


Slightly Haunted

by EmeraldTrash666



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Aromantic Character, Comedy, EXTREMELY gratuitous ancient Egypt facts, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Gratuitous descriptions of 90s Japanese arcade games, Slice of Life, Voidpunk, You WILL learn historically accurate ancient Egyptian horse names And You Will Like It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-07-13 05:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 94,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16011671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldTrash666/pseuds/EmeraldTrash666
Summary: In hindsight, maybe Yuugi was a fool for dismissing all the rumors about the Millennium Puzzle being cursed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this on impulse two days ago, and finished the first chapter last night. I'm not entirely sure how far this fic will get, but I hope everyone enjoys it anyway!

**_“FOOLISH MORTAL WHO DARED TRESPASS ON HOLY GROUND AND PILLAGE THE ROYAL TOMBS, RETURN MY MILLENNIUM PUZZLE OR SUFFER ONE THOUSAND DEATHS AND AN ETERNAL CURSE UPON THY HOUSE.”_ **

Making this threat, bellowed in the most commanding and intimidating voice he could muster, was the first thing Atem did upon being released from the Millennium Puzzle, the very moment the last piece clicked into place. He hovered high above the Puzzle, arms crossed, looming down at whoever had solved it, whoever had put their grubby little grave robber hands all over his precious Puzzle. Insolent worm, invading _his_ tomb, touching _his_ most beloved possession, interrupting _his_ afterlife-

“W-Wait… ‘Your’ Puzzle?” gasped a small, shaky voice. “If this is your Puzzle… then you must be…”

**_“THE GREAT PHARAOH ATEM OF THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNASTY OF THE THRONE OF EGYPT, SON OF PHARAOH AKHENAMKHANON, KING OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT, DIVINE SON OF RA, BELOVED OF THE TWO LADIES, HE FOR WHOM THE SHADOWS-”_ **

“Oh, no… If… If you’re a Pharaoh, and this was stolen from your tomb, then that means you… Can’t have a proper afterlife, can you..?”

It was at that moment that Atem noticed that the person who had solved the puzzle didn’t appear to be a dirty, wild-eyed grave robber, but rather a boy, seemingly around Atem’s age, or maybe a little younger. (Or at least, around Atem’s mental age; Chronologically speaking, he wasn’t entirely certain of his own age, but it went without saying that he was far, far older than anyone currently alive, he thought.)

The boy, of course, looked deeply upset. Completely scared shitless, Atem assumed. Good. He _should_ be. It didn’t matter who he was, or how old he was; What he had done was unforgivable, and Atem was going to make sure he was damn well aware of it.

**_“CORRECT, YOU INSOLENT, BARBARIC SLIME. NOW, RETURN THE PUZZLE TO ME OR YOU WILL BURN IN THE SHADOW REALM FOR ALL ETERNITY, AND YOUR HEART WILL BE ENDLESSLY DEVOURED BY THE BEASTS WHICH INHABIT IT.”_ **

(Of course, this was a completely different threat from the one Atem had made earlier, but he figured it was probably best to cover all his bases.)

“Y-Yes, of course I’ll put it back! I’m so sorry, that must be so awful for you, I’m really sorry, I had no idea,” the boy stammered, looking… Genuinely hurt? Sad?

Suddenly, Atem felt a pang of deep guilt, like accidentally kicking a pet.

“Ah, wait, that means I’ll have to go to Egypt, won’t I?” the boy said hastily, seemingly talking to himself. “I don’t know how I manage to convince mom and dad to let me go, maybe I can get grandpa to take me- Oh, and I’ll have to skip school- And wait, how much does a plane ticket to Egypt even cost? It’s on the other side of the world, it must be expensive, but I only have about 10,000 yen in my savings right now… And- Oh, oh no, I don’t think anyone’s allowed to go into one of the ancient tombs, and I don’t even know where it _is_ and- and-”

...Hang on. Was… Was the boy… Crying?

Oh, god, he was. Now Atem _really_ felt bad.

 _“W-Wait, kid, don’t cry-_ **_UH, I MEAN. CEASE YOUR PATHETIC BLUBBERING, MORTAL,”_ ** Atem commanded, awkwardly stumbling to regain his intimidating voice.

The boy immediately shut his mouth and sat up straighter than before- though he still avoided eye contact, his lip trembled incessantly, and his breathing was more like a series of hiccups and sniffles than inhales and exhales.

 **_“FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, ONE AS WISE AND EXPERIENCED AS ME UNDERSTANDS THE LIMITATIONS OF MORTAL TRAVEL,”_ ** he announced. **_“IT WOULD BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE FOR ME TO KILL YOU BEFORE YOU CAN GET TO MY TOMB. THEREFORE, I SHALL GIVE YOU…”_ ** He paused. How long would it take to get to Waset from… Where were they, anyway? Phoenicia? Crete? Punt? Hell if he knew. Looking around, he realized that neither the boy’s clothes nor the contents of the room at all resembled any cultures he was familiar with, meaning they must have been quite far from Egypt indeed.

 **_“...THREE MONTHS,”_ ** he decided after a moment, figuring it was probably about long enough. **_“YOU HAVE THREE MONTHS TO MAKE YOUR JOURNEY AND RETURN MY MILLENNIUM PUZZLE. WASTE MY TIME, AND YOU WILL REGRET EVER HAVING BEEN BORN INTO YOUR PATHETIC LIFE.”_ **

“Yes, of course! I’m so, so sorry this happened to you, and I swear I’ll do everything I can to fix it,” the boy promised. There was a definite earnestness of sorts to his voice, which Atem found curious; If he hadn’t been entirely certain before, he could tell beyond a doubt now that this boy was no grave robber, but rather a genuinely good-hearted person. He tilted his head and watched the boy thoughtfully for a moment, while the boy stared shyly back up at him with those sad, scared, guilty eyes.

 **_“...WHAT IS YOUR NAME, MORTAL?”_ ** Atem asked.

“Oh! It’s, um, Yuugi. Mutou Yuugi,” the boy responded.

Atem nodded this, as if approving this answer. **_“HOW DID MY MILLENNIUM PUZZLE COME INTO YOUR POSSESSION, MUTOU-YUUGI?”_ **

“W-well, you see, my grandpa won it in a bet a long time ago, when he was in America, although I don’t know who he won it from or how they got it. Then he gave it to me, since I always thought it was cool when I was a kid,” Yuugi answered.

Atem raised an eyebrow. **_“YOU THOUGHT THE MILLENNIUM PUZZLE WAS… ‘COOL’?”_ ** he questioned in surprise .

Yuugi nodded enthusiastically, suddenly seeming to perk up, even as his eyes remained red-tinted from crying. “Yup! I’ve always really liked games and puzzles, and the Millennium Puzzle is so pretty, plus nobody’s ever been able to solve it before! I wanted to be the first,” he explained.

 **_“NONSENSE. I’VE SOLVED IT DOZENS OF TIMES. IT WAS MY FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TOY,”_ ** Atem pointed out.

Yuugi shrugged. “Well, I guess nobody’s been able to solve it since then. Of course, it was also rumored to be cursed by the Pharaoh, and- ...Oh. I… guess the rumors were kinda true, huh,” he realized quietly, looking sheepish.

 **_“REALLY? SUCH A CLEAR WARNING, AND STILL NO ONE THOUGHT OF RETURNING THE PUZZLE? HOW ABSURD,”_ ** Atem spat angrily. **_“SOMEDAY, HUMANITY’S AVARICE WILL BE ITS UNDOING, I’M SURE OF IT.”_ **

“You’re right… I’m sorry, I should never have been so selfish,” Yuugi apologized, eyes beginning to well up with tears once again.

 **_“I WASN’T NECESSARILY REFERRING TO YOU SPECIFICALLY,”_ ** Atem clarified hastily, waving his hands in dismissal before Yuugi could start sobbing again.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Both the room’s occupants glanced toward it, distracted by this interruption.

“Yuugi, are you still awake? You should be in bed, it’s after midnight,” a voice said from behind the door, gentle yet slightly scolding.

“Oh, right! Sorry, grandpa,” Yuugi called back, then turned back to Atem. “Um… I have school in the morning, so… I really do need to go to sleep now, um, if that’s alright,” he told him slowly, with an awkward inclination of his head.

 **_“TOMORROW WE WILL BEGIN THE JOURNEY TO EGYPT, YES?”_ ** Atem questioned, a slight threatening edge to his voice.

Yuugi fidgeted nervously, face contorted with worry. “I’d like to say yes, but...  W-Well, it’s not as simple as just _going_ to Egypt, unfortunately… But I promise tomorrow I’ll start working on a plan,” he replied, with a nod of conviction.

 **_“THEN SLEEP,”_ ** Atem decided, and said no more.

Yuugi nodded stiffly, and walked over to the door, keeping his eyes on Atem as he hit a switch on the wall. Suddenly, the room went dark, and Atem found himself looking around wondering where the light had even come from in the first place; He’d been so wrapped up in his anger and threats that he hadn’t even noticed it before, but in hindsight, the room _had_ been surprisingly well lit for indoors, despite the lack of any visible candles or torches or anything like that. Idly, he wondered what that was all about.

But he was still more concerned with matters at hand, and turned his attention back towards Yuugi, who was now walking towards the bed.

There were a few moments of awkward silence as both Atem and Yuugi continued to watch each other while Yuugi slowly climbed into bed- Yuugi, with wide, nervous eyes, and Atem with a sharp, burning stare. Eventually, Yuugi shyly turned towards the wall, and fell into a deep sleep not long afterwards.

* * *

Evidently, ghosts did not sleep. Atem knew this, because he’d been trying to go to sleep for the past several _hours_ (or so he assumed, anyway) and had gotten absolutely nowhere. No matter how hard he tried, he never even felt sleepy; Even if he closed his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, it still just felt like… Well, closing his eyes. There was clearly not going to be any sleep happening, so after a long and frustrating span of time, he simply gave up.

With nothing better to do, he decided to investigate his surroundings. Atem was a naturally curious person, and nothing seemed familiar in this strange land and time. What was it like, he wondered?

Looking around, the first thing he noticed was the location of the Millennium Puzzle. It rested next to its box on a plain, rectangular wooden table; The table was fairly small in terms of surface area, but unusually tall- not that this was much of an issue, given that there was also a tall chair next to it. The right side of the table seemed to have a stack of drawers in it, as well.

On top of this table sat a row of slab-shaped objects, which Atem didn’t recognize, with white centers and colorful outer layers, arranged to be mostly standing up with several falling over slightly. There was also a frame holding what appeared to be a freakishly good portrait of several people, as well as a mysterious structure made up of several metal bars connected to each other with hinges; The shape of it reminded Atem of an arm sticking out of the grown, or perhaps some sort of bird. He touched it, and the thing moved slightly, with a quiet creaking noise.

The room itself was fairly small in size, with a slanted ceiling, and a long glass-covered window above the table. On the right side of the table, as well as on the adjacent walls, were several shelves, filled with more mysterious slabs and boxes and various other objects. A large mirror also hung on one of the walls (Atem’s reflection appeared vague and shadowy, almost as if it could be mistaken for a smudge on the mirror if he weren’t looking for it). To the left of the table was a cushioned bed, where Yuugi lay on his side underneath a blanket.

On top of the bed’s wide, shelf-like headrest was a small, very peculiar box. On the front of it were several glowing, blinking glyphs in some script Atem didn’t recognize, though it vaguely reminded him of cuneiform. The box must have been enchanted, given that the glyphs glowed, so maybe it was for some sort of ritual purpose? He’d have to ask Yuugi about it in the morning, Atem decided.

Yuugi…

Atem’s gaze drifted towards the boy in question, who snored gently as he slept, his chest rising and falling with a slow, steady motion. He looked so… Innocent, sweet, peaceful, making Atem feel a strange sense of wanting to protect him.

He… Really did feel bad for scaring the poor boy like that, if he was being honest with himself. He clearly hadn’t been aware of the Millennium Puzzle’s origin, and seemed genuinely remorseful about it. A part of Atem said that he had been cruel to yell and threaten an innocent, clearly timid person like that, but what was he supposed to do? Just say, “Oh, well, nevermind then, by the way do you think you could stop by my tomb if you get the chance?”

Of course not. He couldn’t back down from his initial threats. He had to be scary, had to be intimidating, or else how would he ever be taken seriously? He loved his Millennium Puzzle so much that it seemed it had become a part of his very soul, and if it wasn’t returned to his tomb, he wouldn’t be able to return to the afterlife.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since the Millennium Puzzle had been stolen- How long he’d spent in empty, disorienting darkness- But the memory of it was enough to make him shudder with fear. No, he absolutely couldn’t afford to risk the possibility of Yuugi deciding that the journey to Egypt was too difficult to make, or that he didn’t care enough to bother. Atem _had_ to make sure beyond a doubt that he would return the Puzzle, and preferably as quickly as possible. If that meant going just a little far with scaring him into submission, so be it.

Atem sighed, and glanced out the window, wondering how long there was until morning. He could only just barely see slightest little inklings of the sky beginning to lighten on the horizon, behind several tall buildings. Great.

* * *

Something was making a terrible, terrible noise. A very, very annoying, very, very loud, high pitched noise, not unlike some sort of strange, horrific mutant click beetle being brutally murdered. And it.

Wasn’t.

Stopping.

Atem searched frantically around the room for whatever the hell was making that god-awful noise, and quickly identified the source: the box on the bed, the one with the magic glyphs. Why it was making such a noise, Atem didn’t know, and frankly he didn’t care. What mattered was that he Didn’t Like It.

 _“Stop that. Shut up. Be quiet,”_ he told the box- not really sure if he was speaking to it because he believed it could actually understand him, or if he was simply talking to inanimate objects because it wasn’t like there was much else he could do.

The noise continued.

 _“I said, be quiet,”_ Atem repeated, more firmly this time.

The noise continued.

 **_“I ORDER YOU TO CEASE THIS RIDICULOUS NOISE,”_ ** Atem shouted, running extremely low on patience (he’d used most of it up in the hours he’d spent doing literally nothing all night).

Atem gritted his teeth and growled in frustration, now more than just a little irritated. He grabbed the box and, with all the incorporeal strength his soul could muster, hurled it at the opposite wall as hard as possible.

The box slammed into the wall and fell to the ground with a satisfying thud, and though it did indeed stop, the sound of the box hitting the wall also woke up Yuugi, who sat up with a start- And then, upon seeing Atem, jumped again, this time screaming slightly.

 **_“HELLO, MUTOU-YUUGI. YOUR HORRIBLE BOX WOULDN’T STOP SCREAMING, SO I KILLED IT,”_ ** Atem announced, standing with his hands on his hips and nodding in satisfaction. **_“YOU’RE WELCOME.”_ **

Yuugi simply stared at Atem for a moment, eyes wide and heart racing, before speaking in a tired voice. “...You broke my alarm clock?”

Atem raised an eyebrow. That thing was supposed to be a clock? No way. That didn’t make sense, it looked nothing like a clock. Then again, it _was_ magical, so who was he to say?

 **_“YES, I DID. IT OFFENDED ME, SO I DESTROYED IT. YOU SHOULD GET A BETTER CLOCK, ONE THAT DOESN’T SCREAM,”_ ** he informed Yuugi. **_“YOUR SOCIETY MUST HAVE SOME STRANGE PRIORITIES, IF THIS IS THE SORT OF TECHNOLOGY YOU’VE DEVELOPED.”_ **

Yuugi stared at Atem for a few more seconds, and then groaned and fell back onto the bed, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

“It’s too early for this,” he muttered under his breath.

After a little while, Yuugi sighed, and reluctantly sat up. He rubbed his eyes, and stumbled over to the door.

 **_“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”_ ** Atem asked.

“Breakfast ‘n’ stuff,” Yuugi muttered sleepily in response.

Atem followed him, and stuck his head out the door just in time to see Yuugi start descending a set of stairs… But found that he was unable to follow any further, confined to the room by his connection to the Millennium Puzzle.

A little while later, Yuugi came back, looking much more awake. He still seemed a little startled upon seeing Atem, almost as if he’d expected the whole thing to have been just a dream, but quickly regained his composure.

“Uh… Good morning, um… Pharaoh…” he greeted him slowly, still with tentative uncertainty in his voice. “Uh, how did you sleep?” he asked, feeling a need to be polite to his “guest”.

 **_“I DIDN’T SLEEP. I AM A GHOST,”_ ** Atem replied bluntly.

Yuugi blinked in surprise. “Oh. Okay. Well, anyway, um… I have to get dressed now, so… Do you think you could, um, turn around or something for a few minutes?” he asked with no small amount of awkwardness, fidgeting nervously.

Atem nodded- he did at least respect Yuugi’s privacy- and turned to face the wall, away from the mirror.

**_“SO, MUTOU-YUUGI-”_ **

“Oh, you can just call me Yuugi, actually,” Yuugi interrupted.

 **_“VERY WELL, YUUGI,”_ ** Atem corrected himself. **_“TODAY YOU’LL BEGIN MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR PASSAGE TO EGYPT, YES?”_ ** he asked as he continued to face the wall.

“Yeah... Although I have to go to school first, but I’ll do whatever I can as soon as school gets out,” Yuugi promised.

 **_“GOOD. I HOPE YOU REMEMBER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’T,”_ ** Atem warned ominiously.

“Y-yes, I know. I promise, I’ll find away to return the Millennium Puzzle,” Yuugi insisted quickly, a nervous edge to his voice. “Alright, you can turn around now.”

Atem turned around, and idly glanced over Yuugi’s clothes- They were rather plain, he thought, though he did like the choker. Interestingly enough, he noticed that Yuugi was wearing tight pants, as opposed to the loose ones he’d slept in. They looked uncomfortable, he thought, but evidently Yuugi didn’t seem to mind.

“I gotta get going now, so… I’ll see you later,” Yuugi told Atem, waving slightly as he headed towards the door- And then he hesitated, as if remembering something.

“Oh, by the way…” He sighed. “Listen, Pharaoh… I understand that you’re upset, but please don’t break any more of my stuff while I’m gone, alright?” he requested, sounding slightly exasperated.

 **_“DO THE REST OF YOUR THINGS ALSO MAKE HORRIBLE INCESSANT SHRIEKING NOISES?”_ ** Atem questioned.

“...Not really, no,” Yuugi replied.

 **_“THEN I SEE NO REASON TO BREAK THEM,”_ ** Atem assured him with a shrug. **_“GOODBYE, YUUGI. REMEMBER, IF YOU NEGLECT YOUR TASK I WILL KILL YOU,”_ ** he added for good measure.

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “Right… Uh… Well, see you later. Have a good day, I guess,” he muttered awkwardly, and with that, he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Now, Atem realized, he was alone. Alone, and confined to Yuugi’s room, with nothing but himself, the bed, the table, the blissfully quiet magic box, and the colorful mystery slabs. Waiting for Yuugi to come back from school.

Atem sighed.

It was going to be a long, boring day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes on Atem's perspective, because god knows I can't even write anything silly without going into detail over historical accuracy:
> 
> 1\. The way he introduces himself is loosely (very very very loosely) based on the like, 500 names every pharaoh had for some reason. You can read more about that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_royal_titulary  
> 2\. "Waset" refers to Thebes (near modern day Luxor), the ancient city near which the Valley of the Kings is located. Waset was the actual Egyptian name for the city, while Thebes comes from a Greek name for the nearby Karnak temple complex. Or so Wikipedia tells me, anyway.  
> 3\. He initially calls Yuugi "Mutou-Yuugi" because last names weren't really a thing in ancient Egypt, so he just kind of assumed that's Yuugi's full given name.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my phone, which made me want to die several times while writing this chapter due to it autocorrecting "Ushio-kun" to "Ushio-kin"

Yuugi found it hard to concentrate on school that day. He felt as if he were going through the day on autopilot, walking to class, eating lunch, and doing his work through sheer muscle memory while his mind was elsewhere. Said hello to his classmates, turned in his homework, answered questions from teachers, even talked to Anzu for a bit- all without using his full attention, or even most of it, like his life was just moving on its own.

He couldn’t stop thinking of the events of the previous night. It was shocking enough that he’d actually managed to solve the Millennium Puzzle after eight long years, but for the ghost of a long-dead pharaoh to appear in his room, and threaten to kill him if he didn’t return the Puzzle to his tomb? He almost would have thought it was just some bizarre nightmare, if the ghost hadn’t still been there when he woke up, as regal and terrifying as he’d been the night before. And he clearly wasn’t just a figment of Yuugi’s imagination, given that he’d apparently thrown Yuugi’s alarm clock across the room. Hallucinations didn’t move solid objects. 

Honestly, the more he thought about it, the more guilty Yuugi felt. Ancient Egypt had always been his favorite period of history, so he was well aware of the basics of ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife; Their religious beliefs dictated that a proper burial was essential to getting into the afterlife, and that anything an individual was to have in the afterlife needed to be buried with them. If the Millennium Puzzle had indeed been stolen from this pharaoh’s tomb, and he was  _ here, _ and not in the afterlife…

…Yuugi also couldn’t help but notice that the Pharaoh (What was his name again? Yuugi felt bad for forgetting) appeared not as a crusty, rotting old mummy, but rather as… A boy, who couldn’t have been much older than Yuugi himself. Was that how old he’d been when he died? The thought made Yuugi almost nauseous, and more so knowing the fate that had befallen him now. For someone Yuugi’s age to have that chance at life stolen from them not once, but twice…

Yuugi knew he had to get the Millennium Puzzle back to its proper resting place, no matter what. He had to. He hated seeing people suffer, and he couldn’t stand knowing that he’d played a part in this tragedy, even if it was an indirect one. He had to do anything and everything he could to make things right.

But  _ how,  _ was the question? For an ordinary high schooler like himself to travel all the way from Japan to Egypt and return a stolen artifact to a pharaoh’s tomb sounded insane, almost impossible. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much the plane ticket would cost- more than Yuugi had ever had to his name, for sure- and god only knew how he’d manage to convince his parents to let him go on this ridiculous trip all of a sudden. Not to mention getting to the tomb itself, once he somehow made it to Egypt; He had no idea where the Pharaoh’s tomb was, and even if he managed to find out, he doubted getting inside would be easy. Especially since he doubted his parents would ever let him go to Egypt on his own, of course not, and obviously they’d never let him break into an ancient tomb, which meant he’d have to sneak away somehow, and-

“Yuugi, are you ok? You’re looking kinda pale,” Anzu pointed out, breaking Yuugi’s train of thought. 

“Huh? O-Oh, I’m fine! I’m just tired is all,” Yuugi insisted quickly, shaking his head with a nervous laugh. (It wasn’t a total lie, at least; Last night’s ordeal had left Yuugi emotionally exhausted, hence why he’d slept through his alarm.)

Anzu looked unconvinced.

“You’ve been totally out of it all day, are you sure you’re alright?” she asked worriedly. “Is this about Ushio?” she added in a lower voice, glancing around as if afraid of eavesdroppers.

Yuugi blinked in confusion for a minute, before remembering what Anzu meant. Oh, right, Ushio. That guy. 

The guy who was extorting him. 

The guy who had threatened to stab him if he didn’t bring him an exorbitant sum of money. 

Which he definitely didn’t have. 

That guy. 

“Oh no… I forgot all about that!” Yuugi exclaimed,  _ really _ going pale this time. “Oh man, I’m so screwed… Oh no, this is bad, this is really bad…”

“Nice going, Anzu,” he heard Honda mutter. 

Anzu gave Honda a dirty look. “Hey, shut up! This whole thing is your fault anyway, you know,” she reminded him, a slight edge to her voice. 

“It’s ok, Anzu, they already apologized,” Yuugi said, before the situation could escalate any further. He then sighed, and put his chin in his hands, slumping against his desk. 

“I just don’t know what to do,” he whispered. 

Jounouchi put a hand on Yuugi’s shoulder. 

“Listen… I got your back if Ushio tries to pull any crap on you, but honestly? I think the best thing to do in this situation is to just avoid him,” he admitted. “Go straight home today, try to stay out of the halls as much as possible, and… Hopefully, he’ll forget about it eventually,” he suggested with a shrug, though he didn’t sound especially confident. 

Yuugi shook his head. “I can’t. I have… stuff I need to do, after class today,” he replied, remembering his promise to the Pharaoh. The first step, he figured, was to research the cost of plane tickets to Egypt- which would require a computer, which he didn’t have at home, but the library did. 

Jounouchi grimaced. “Alright, well… I really don’t think that’s a good idea, but if you’re that determined, I’ll stick with you until you’re done in case Ushio shows up,” he decided, with a nod of conviction. 

“So will I,” Honda agreed. 

Yuugi frowned. “You guys don’t have to do that for me…”

“No, Anzu’s right- It is our fault you wound up in this situation, so it’s only fair,” Honda pointed out rather seriously.

“Besides, that’s what friends are for, right?” Jounouchi added, smiling reassuringly.

Friends…

Somehow, the word made Yuugi’s heart beat a little faster. He’d always wanted a close group of friends, but had never really had any friends other than Anzu; He wasn’t often necessarily  _ disliked,  _ per se (despite being commonly chosen as an easy target for bullying), but nobody had ever liked him enough to hang out outside of school, or ask him about his personal life. He was always just Yuugi from the game shop, nobody’s favorite classmate, the kid everyone went to for advice when they were stuck in a Zelda game but never invited to come over and play together. He felt like a third wheel in life itself.

He hoped this time would be different. And somehow, for once, he  _ had _ that hope.

Yuugi smiled warmly, feeling a slight blush on his cheeks. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate that a lot,” he said, with honest gratitude. 

Anzu sighed with slight exasperation. “Well if these two are sticking around, I guess I should too,” she decided. “Although, really, Yuugi, I think Jounouchi’s right. It’d be better to just go home.”

“Maybe, but I have something really important I need to do,” Yuugi insisted. 

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Jounouchi wondered. 

Yuugi hesitated, not really sure what to say. It wasn’t like he could just tell the truth, or they’d all think he was crazy- which was the last thing he needed when he was trying to make friends. 

“Um… It’s a secret,” he answered tentatively after a moment. 

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “We’re gonna risk getting our asses kicked, and you can’t even tell us why? Geez… I respect your privacy, though,” he added reassuringly. “If it’s important to you, that’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks,” Yuugi repeated with a smile. 

* * *

Yuugi couldn’t help but feel anxious as he walked towards the library, friends in tow. Not only was he afraid of potentially encountering Ushio, but frankly, he was almost equally nervous about what the results of his research might be.

He knew the plane ticket was going to be expensive, and he had no idea how he was going to pay for it, especially given that having a part-time job was against school rules. The Pharaoh had given him a limit of three months, but there was no way that was going to be long enough; His allowance was ¥800 a week, so even if he avoided buying any new trading cards, video games, or manga, and avoided going out for lunch (unless he could convince his parents or grandpa to give him extra money) or buying candy, soda, or snacks for the full duration of those three months- which wouldn’t even be possible, since he needed time for travel itself- he’d still only be able to save up around ¥11,200. He didn’t know how much plane tickets cost, but however much it was, he sincerely doubted they were that cheap. 

Honestly, he didn’t know how he was ever going to manage this whole thing. He’d have to talk to the Pharaoh when he got home, see if he could explain the situation… Although when he thought of it that way, he found himself worrying that the Pharaoh might take it as simply an excuse, and get angry at him. 

Yuugi shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. No use worrying about that now; He’d cross that bridge when he got to it. He had to focus on the things that were happening right now, like-

“Ah, there you are, Yuugi!” a voice sneered from behind him.

“Ushio-kun!” Yuugi gasped, eyes widening in fear. 

“It’s dangerous to roam these halls without your bodyguard, you know,” Ushio said chidingly, arms crossed across his chest, and gestured towards Jounouchi and Honda with his chin. “What if these guys had tried to bully you?”

(Yuugi noted that there were several other boys behind Ushio, all with the same menacing looks.)

“We don’t do that kind of thing anymore,” Jounouchi retorted, glaring at Ushio. “We’re his friends, got that?”

“Y-yeah,” Yuugi conformed with a nod- heart still racing at being called a friend.

Ushio snorted in disbelief. “Whatever. If you want to be a masochist, that’s your business. My business, however…” Ushio grinned ominously and reached into his pocket. “I hope you have that money you owe me, Yuugi. It’s immoral to withhold someone’s pay, you know…”

Suddenly, Anzu growled and stomped right up to Ushio with crossed arms and a fierce glare, her intensity matching Ushio’s despite the size difference. 

“You don’t have any right to lecture Yuugi about morality!” she snapped. “You’re the most immoral person in this entire school, extorting innocent people like that!”

“Anzu! You idiot, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Jounouchi hissed quietly.

“Yeah, you’re gonna get us all killed!” Honda added. 

Meanwhile, Ushio’s underlings were a little less worried and a little more temperamental. 

“Who the hell do you think you are to talk to the boss like that, bitch?!” one particularly gruff looking boy demanded, stomping his foot threateningly. 

Anzu, however, ignored the warnings from both sides, not even acknowledging them. She instead went up on her tiptoes to close the height gap, staring Ushio down on an equal eye level. 

“You know what? You’re not even a good bully,” she accused, voice scathing. “You let other guys do all the real harassment, and then piggyback off of them to run your stupid extortionist game!”

_ Crack! _

_ “Anzu!”  _ the boys screamed, as she stumbled backwards and fell to the floor- but it was not Anzu who had a red mark on her face. No, it was Yuugi, who had jumped in front of her to take the hit, just as he’d done for Jounouchi and Honda just the day before. 

That was all it took for the situation to erupt into an all-out brawl. 

Yuugi wasn’t entirely sure of the sequence of events after that, because everything was a blur of violence and shouting. Fists and insults flying everywhere, someone punched Yuugi, someone shoved him backwards against a wall, Ushio had a knife, Jounouchi had a yo-yo, someone grabbed Anzu, Anzu bit his arm hard enough to make him scream, Honda elbowed someone in the ribs, suddenly there was blood dripping down Yuugi’s cheek, and then-

“Hey! What the hell is going on here?!” boomed the voice of the infamous gym teacher, Karita-sensei. 

...And then the fight was dropped twice as quickly as it began, as everyone abandoned their grudges and ran for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to those of you who are mostly just here for Atem. He'll get his turn next chapter ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually required a surprising amount of research. Like, I spent an entire evening researching ancient Egyptian dog breeds vs. the top most common breeds in modern Japan, and debating which ones Atem would recognize as actually being dogs. Historical notes will be at the end, as usual.  
> Also, thank you so much to everyone who's left nice comments! I was really worried about how this fic would be received, given that I'm still relatively new to Yugioh (even though I have read all the manga), so I really appreciate all the support.

Spending the day alone, surprisingly, was a lot less boring than Atem had expected… For the first few hours, anyway. 

Everything was so new, there was no shortage of things to examine, questions to contemplate, ideas to try out… Not only was the environment new to him, but so was being a ghost, so naturally he spent the first few hours investigating his new existence. The first thing he came to realize was that he could move anywhere within a radius of approximately five royal cubits away from the Millennium Puzzle, including up and down, diagonally upwards, and so forth. If he tried to go past that range, nothing would happen, as if there were an invisible rope tethering him to the Puzzle. 

Secondly, he could either interact with physical objects, or not interact with them. Neither of these necessarily required effort, per se- a slight bit of focus to do one or the other, perhaps, but it was almost negligible, like the amount of effort it would take someone to look to one direction or the other. It was a bit like the difference between simply touching a pillow vs. intentionally squishing it, only.. In reverse, he supposed. 

He found that, by default, he generally wouldn’t pass through things unless he wanted to- provided he was aware that those things were  _ there.  _ He could sit in the chair, for example, and he wouldn’t suddenly sink through the floor either, but he had at one point looked down to find his foot halfway through a pile of laundry he hadn’t initially noticed.

His hypothesis as to why this happened was this: His mind, being used to inhabiting a physical form,  _ expected _ him to make contact with solid objects, and so he did. If he didn’t know something was there, however, then his subconscious had no information from which to make this decision, thus he phased through the unknown object.

He also found that not only was he capable of moving objects, but he also didn’t even need to actually touch the objects to move them. He could simply will them to move, and they would. Moving things, unlike simply touching them, did take effort, and it was easier for him to move them if he was touching them- for similar reasons to why he didn’t generally pass through things, he assumed; Telekinesis was a new skill, and a mildly surprising one, but he’d spent a lifetime moving things with his body, so it made sense that that unquestionable confidence would subconsciously affect his abilities. The human mind was a powerful thing. 

(He also found that he wasn’t especially great at having precise control over things, even if he was touching them. He wondered if he would improve over time, or if it was simply one of the limitations of being a ghost.)

With Yuugi gone, Atem was left to find some way of entertaining himself on his own. He was fine for a little while- he did still have some things to process and think about, after all- but eventually, he found himself getting bored. He needed to find something to do.

Glancing around the room, his gaze fell upon the window, filling the room with wide, cheerful sunlight from just above the desk. The window gave him an idea: perhaps if he looked outside, he could learn a little more about this strange new world he’d found himself in…

With this in mind, he floated effortlessly up and towards the window, through the slanted portion of the roof, and sat down comfortably by the edge. He looked around with curiousity, eager to learn about the place Yuugi called home; Not only was it true that it would only be practical to learn about the time and place he’d be living (well, existing, really) in for the next few weeks or so, but he had a natural thirst for knowledge that always filled him with a burning need to learn as much as he could about new things, and there were certainly plenty of new things to learn about here. 

It was clear that Yuugi lived in a busy city, rather than a village. Most of the buildings were quite tall, and fairly close together; In the distance he could see some that were so tall, they rivaled even the great pyramids of the ancient kings at Giza. Most of the buildings seemed to be very rectangular, equal in width at both the top and the bottom, and made of what seemed to be rows of square glass panels alternating between layers of stone. It was awe-inspiring, a city of gems gleaming boldly in the morning light. 

Interestingly enough, he noticed that Yuugi’s house didn’t seem to match the buildings around it. It was much smaller, with several protruding sections as opposed to being totally rectangular, and the roof was sloped and covered by green tiles. Both the roof tiles and the glass window seemed rather faded and dirty compared to the polished splendor of the tall buildings, so Atem wondered if the house might be older than the rest of the neighborhood. 

The roads were paved in solid dark grey, with narrower rows of light colored stone on either side, between the buildings and the roads. Dividing lines were painted on the roads, presumably to help guide the flow of traffic. There were some large arrows in some locations as well, and some words, though naturally, he had no idea what they said; Though he clearly recognized it as being obviously some system of writing, it was one he’d never seen before. 

A handful of tall, bushy green trees decorated the neighborhood- the only vegetation in sight. He noted a strange lack of ordinary ground, too, as if everything had been filled in by stone or clay, which he couldn’t help but wonder about. What was the purpose of covering up the ground like that? Maybe… Maybe the area was prone to heavy rain, and the pavement helped to keep everything from being washed away, or… …Well, he really didn’t know. Maybe he’d ask Yuugi about it later.

Every now and then, people walked by, always staying on the stone edges of the road. He didn’t see a lot of animals; Most of what he saw was small birds, one stray cat running across the road, and various types of animals being walked on leashes. (He spotted one dog, several smaller creatures that were either weird dogs or close cousins of dogs, and a few slightly odd looking cats.) He saw no donkeys, oxen, horses, or any other animals generally used for transportation, strangely enough. He didn’t notice any people pulling carts, either. 

What he did notice, however, was a lot of strange, large…  _ things _ on wheels- noisy, boxy things in various shiny colors, speeding down the road despite having nothing pulling them. It was hard to guess what the strange things were, given that he was looking down at them from above. He assumed they must have been some sort of vehicles, but how did they work? Why were they like that? They were by far the most mysterious things around, and he found himself simply observing them closely for a while, picking them apart for any possible clues that would reveal more about their origins. 

Yet time passed, and Atem came no closer to understanding his surroundings. There was only so much he could guess at, and nothing with which to confirm or deny his assumptions, so there wasn’t much point in staying. With one last glance at the strange, exotic landscape, he turned around and walked back down into Yuugi’s room. 

* * *

If he couldn’t learn more about outside, then he’d just have to learn about inside.

Though he’d already explored the room a little bit overnight, he hadn’t been able to truly investigate in-depth, not wanting to wake Yuugi up with any noise. Now that Yuugi was gone, he was free to pick things up, open drawers and boxes, and generally examine things without worrying about consequences- and there was a  _ lot _ to examine. He started with the items on the table. 

Looking closely at the image in the small frame, he recognized one of the people as Yuugi. Next to him was a girl about his age, yet far taller than him. Both were facing forwards, smiling and seemingly waving to the viewer, posture casual and relaxed. What fascinated Atem was the startling realism of the image; It lacked the heavy stylization of Egyptian art, and he hardly even saw any signs that the image was created by human hand. The anatomy, perspective, and lighting all seemed flawless, as it it were real, two tiny people frozen in time and space. He wondered who could have possibly painted such realistic art, and how? Everything about this era was mysterious, it seemed…

Moving on from the painting, he decided to investigate the colorful slabs. He noted that most of them seemed to have words on the edge that stood perpendicular to the desk; Perhaps each one had a specific, labeled function? He picked one of the slabs up, and to his surprise, it was not a completely solid block. Instead, it seemed to consist of many sheets of paper trimmed to a small rectangular size, and all fused together at one of the long ends. The two front and back pieces of paper were colored, while the rest were a brilliant white; He opened one of the paper stacks carefully, curiously, and found it to be full of neatly written text. 

The obvious conclusion, then, was that the paper stacks must have been this country’s equivalent of books. Interesting! It was a strange form, for sure, but the more he thought about it, the more they seemed… Surprisingly practical, actually. Scrolls were something of a pain to roll up, and the longer ones could take up quite a lot of space- especially if you accidentally dropped one end- but Atem was able to flip through the slab-book and casually put it back again without any fuss whatsoever. He found himself slightly bitterly wishing Egyptians had thought of this infinitely more practical solution, it would have saved him a lot of trouble in the past… Oh well.

He wondered what sort of person Yuugi was, if he was able to read. Given that he’d mentioned going to school, maybe he was training to become a scribe? Curious, Atem flipped through a few of the books, and found that surprisingly not all of them were just text. A few were completely made up of (mostly rectangular) panels with lively and dynamic art drawn in black and white ink, playing out scenes accompanied by captions in white bubbles. 

He looked through one such art book, opening it from what he assumed was the front to see if he could figure out the story. The panels showed a boy with strange hair sitting casually; The same boy, lying on the ground presumably dead, and a crowd of distressed people around him; An unknown object, people shouting, the boy punching someone… Atem frowned in confusion. He didn’t really get it…

Whatever. He probably just didn’t understand because he couldn’t read the captions. Shrugging, he put the book back on the table with the others. 

Next objective: Open all the drawers, and all the boxes.

* * *

Going through all of Yuugi’s storage managed to keep Atem occupied for a few hours, with plenty of interesting things to examine and wonder about. Not that most of them particularly solved any mysteries- if anything, he had far more questions than he’d had before- but they were certainly interesting.

The objects he found included clothes (it seemed all of Yuugi’s pants were weirdly skinny, was that simply the fashion of the region?), jewelry (mostly black leather), shoes, a hand mirror, and a comb; More books, and various types of writing implements; Some random objects, toys, small flat puzzles, and figurines; Various types of small, rectangular objects made of a lightweight ceramic-like material, with words written on them; Small, brightly colored blocks of the same material, with raised bumps on the top that seemed to interlock with each other; And, to Atem’s delight, several different types of board games, though he had no idea how to play any of them. Several of them bore vague resemblance to games like senet or twenty-squares, with gridded boards and six-sided dice and various playing pieces, but none were quite identical. One included many small, saucer-shaped black-and-white playing pieces, one included flat wooden playing pieces with alphabetic characters written on them, and some even included dice of less common shapes, including four-, ten-, and twenty-sided dice.

What fascinated Atem the most was several bags, boxes, and books full of countless numbers of small, colorful rectangular pieces of paper. These pieces of paper all had an oval-shaped swirling design on one side in shades of black, brown, and gold, while the reverse side of each piece featured artwork in the center, surrounded by text on backgrounds of varying colors- some were various hues of brown, some were a deep turquoise color, and some were purple. Though the images varied as well, they were all intriguing, showing fantastic creatures, powerful sorcerers, and mysterious items. Some of the pieces of paper, he noted with no small amount of excitement, had Egyptian motifs, such as ankhs or dramatic tombs.

What were these pieces of paper used for, he wondered? Perhaps they served some sort of ritual purpose, such as divination or communicating with the gods. Or maybe they were meant to help learn the alphabet, or… something. 

If only he were able to read them, he’d understand so much better. He saw a few characters that looked vaguely similar to hieratic or hieroglyphics, but not enough to decipher anything; In fact, given the complete lack of similarity to Egyptian scripts among the rest of the characters, he suspected the resemblance was most likely a coincidence. Hieratic was flowing and curly, hieroglyphics were precise and clear, while this alphabet was… primarily very straight and blocky, almost like cuneiform.

No matter how much Atem stared at the strange letters and mystifying artwork, the small pieces of paper would not reveal their secrets to him. With a disappointed frown, he put them back where he found them, and began searching for something else to do.

* * *

_ “Take me baaaaack,”  _ Atem whined, lying on the floor with his arms outstretched, looking decidedly un-regal.  _ “This is so boring… I wanna go home…” _

Many hours had passed since Yuugi had left that morning, and in that time Atem had seemingly exhausted just about everything there was for him to do within the space he was confined to. In addition to investigating every nook and cranny of Yuugi’s room, he’d looked through all of the mysterious picture books (and still not fully understood the plot of any of them); Telekinetically stacked up all the books on the table as tall as he could before it fell down, and then did it again to beat his record; Used a portion of one of the board game sets as a makeshift senet set, and played against himself no less than seven times (knowing the divine correlations between senet and real life, he couldn’t help but grumble in annoyance when he kept repeatedly landing on the water hazard- yes, he was well aware that he was stuck in an unfortunate situation, he did not need any divine signs from the gods to tell him so  _ thank you very much);  _ And sorted a large number of the mysterious little papers by color.

And now, he was extremely bored. There was only so much patience a three-thousand-year-old sixteen-year-old’s mind was capable of, and he’d most definitely depleted all of it.

He rolled across the floor a few times, as if that would somehow help solve the problem.

It did not.

If he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t just bored, he was also… lonely. He’d spent most of his life hardly ever alone, surrounded by people at all times- be they his friends, family, servants, or guards- but now, he was completely alone, with no one to talk to. And, frankly, it was pretty unsettling. As much as he’d enjoyed having quiet time to himself when he was alive, he’d also always been secure in the knowledge that if he did want to talk to someone, he need only to walk down the hall. But now…

Now, he was stuck in one room, unable to leave, with no one even aware of his existence save for one boy. And he had no idea when the boy in question was coming back.

_ “...I want to go home,”  _ he muttered again.

With a noise somewhere between a sigh and a huff, he stood up. He marched over to the table, where the Millennium Puzzle sat innocently on its side, glistening gold in the late afternoon light.

_ “Take me back,” _ he ordered, as if the Puzzle could obey his commands.

It did not.

He scowled at the Puzzle.  _ “Hey,”  _ he grumbled more firmly, picking the Puzzle up and shaking it.  _ “Take me back.” _

Unfortunately, this seemed to accomplish very little other than making himself feel slightly dizzy, so he quickly stopped and put the Puzzle back down.

He was in the middle of contemplating giving in to the urge to simply scream in frustration, when he heard the sudden click of the doorknob turning. Instantly, Atem’s gaze snapped towards the door, his whole body perking up in excitement like a puppy greeting its master- Until he remembered the role he was supposed to be playing, and hastily attempted to regain his dignity before Yuugi noticed.

**_“SO YOU’VE RETURNED, MORTAL. YOUR LACK OF TIMELINESS DISPLEASES-_ ** _ Woah, what… What happened to you?”  _ he gasped, all formality forgotten as he found himself in genuine shock at the state of Yuugi’s appearance.

Yuugi was covered in fresh bruises, scrapes, and even a few cuts, marring his pale skin in shades of red and purple. His clothes were dirty and slightly torn. His posture was slumped, his hair a mess, his eyes dull… In general, he looked like a miserable wreck. He’d clearly been in a fight- and lost.

“I got beat up at school again,” Yuugi mumbled in quiet explanation, dragging his feet halfheartedly as he walked over to the bed.

Atem simply stared for a moment, mouth hanging open in shock, completely speechless. Then, after a moment, his expression changed to one much darker.

**_“WHOEVER DID THIS TO YOU WILL PAY,”_ ** he declared ominously, through gritted teeth.

Yuugi said nothing at first, then took a deep, tired breath and put a hand on his face.

“Pharaoh… I’m sorry,” he began shakily, to Atem’s confusion. “I was planning on going to the library after school and researching what it would take to get to Egypt, I really was, I swear, but that’s- They got me on the way to the library… I’m so sorry, I really am-”

**_“YUUGI.”_ **

“Everyone ran away after the gym teacher showed up and I really wasn’t feeling good so I just went home, but I should have stayed and gone to the library anyway, I- I’m so, so sorry, you must be so mad at me, I’m really sorry and I swear tomorrow I’ll-”

**_“YUUGI. BE QUIET AND LOOK AT ME,”_ ** Atem commanded.

Yuugi paused, sniffling as he looked up at Atem with his head bowed in shame. He was crying again.

**_“I’M NOT ANGRY WITH YOU. I-”_ **

“U-um, excuse me, Pharaoh? I, uh, I don’t- I don’t mean to be rude or anything but could you maybe talk a tiny bit more quietly, please? Um, if you can, I mean? Sorry, I have a headache,” Yuugi requested nervously.

_ “Of course, my apologies,”  _ he replied with a nod, dropping his voice to a more natural speaking tone.  _ “Anyway, as I was saying… I’m not mad at you.” _

“...Are you sure?” Yuugi asked.

_ “Of course. It’s perfectly understandable that you weren’t able to get anything done like this,”  _ Atem assured him gently.  _ “I’m just glad you’re safe.” _

Yuugi sniffled again, looking worried. “But… I mean, it’s my fault you’re in this situation, right? You must be so miserable, being stuck here… And now you have to wait a day longer because I got beat up,” he whispered guiltily.

Atem shook his head.  _ “No, it isn’t. I…”  _ he paused for a moment, biting his lip and looking slightly hesitant, before sighing and sitting down on the bed next to Yuugi.

_ “...Listen. I… may have been a bit too harsh with you last night,”  _ he admitted, briefly looking away in shame.  _ “It is true that I want to get back to the afterlife, and I really wasn’t kidding about killing you if you don’t make the effort to return my Puzzle, but… I don’t blame you for any of this. You had no idea where the Puzzle came from, and it would be completely unfair of me to hold you accountable for the actions of people you’ve never met. And I may not like that I’m here, but as long as I  _ am  _ here… I’d… I’d like it if we could be friends, if it’s alright with you,” _ he said quietly, speaking with a level of unguarded sincerity.

“Do you really mean that?” Yuugi gasped, staring at Atem in surprise.

Atem nodded.  _ “I do.” _

“Then… I’d love to be friends with you, Pharaoh,” Yuugi replied with a warm smile, contrasting against the puffy, wet redness of his eyes.

_ “In that case, you can just call me Atem if you like,”  _ Atem decided, smiling back. And then, with a slight cough, he added:  **_“UH, THAT IS- YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL I HAVE GRANTED YOU THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF USING THE HONORABLE PERSONAL NAME GIFTED TO ME BY MY ROYAL PARENTS, MORTAL PEASANT,”_ ** he added dramatically.

Yuugi giggled at Atem’s acting, causing a slight grin to crack through the young king’s jokingly aloof mask. “Okay, Atem. I’m glad we can be friends,” he said sincerely.

_ “Me too. Now, then…” _ Atem’s expression became slightly more serious again.  _ “Why don’t you tell me how this happened?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Historical notes:
> 
> 1\. Ancient Egyptian royal cubits were the standard unit of measuring length throughout most of ancient Egyptian history. They're equivalent to about 20.7 inches, or 52.5 cm. 5 cubits is about 8.5 feet (2 meters and 61 centimeters).
> 
> 2\. Originally, I had Atem compare the high rises in Domino City to Etemenanki (the Babylonian ziggurat widely believed to be the most likely candidate for a real-world counterpart to the Tower of Babel). Then in the process of writing a long winded note about Etemenanki, why I had him mention it even though we don't actually know for certain when it was originally built, and how its height compares to modern urban buildings, I... realized that it's kind of a stupid comparison when, in fact, two out of three of the Giza pyramids are taller than Etemenanki. I don't know why the fuck I thought they were so much shorter than they actually are and didn't bother to look it up, but. Yeah. That's a thing I did, I guess. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> 3\. Most people in ancient Egypt could not read. Although these days it's thought that most people could recognize at least a few common signs, in general the literacy rate in ancient Egypt is estimated at less than 5% of the population. Those who could read were mostly scribes, who were a lot more than just people who got paid to know how to read- their job was to keep written records of things, do business-related math, and even oversee construction projects. Obviously, it was a very specialized and important profession that required a lot of training, so in order to become a scribe, boys had to attend special scribe schools. (It was also usually a career that was passed down from father to son, and paid damn well, but that's not particularly relevant here.) Priests and pharaohs also usually would have known how to read, with the obvious exception being the bitch ass Ptolemies who couldn't be bothered (with the exception of Cleopatra VII) but they don't count so there. SO THERE. LEARN TO READ YOU DUMBASS GREEK PRICKS. GOD.
> 
> 4\. If you're wondering what he's reading, it's Yu Yu Hakusho.
> 
> 5\. Senet was a popular ancient Egyptian game for two players, played on a 3x10 grid with a set of 5 or so pawns for each player, with movement determined by throwing sticks, knucklebones, or dice. Although nobody's entirely certain of the exact rules, and it's highly likely that they varied over time/region/person (as with modern "house rules"), some guesses have been made based on references to the game here and there in various ancient Egyptian texts. For some reason a lot of people seem to be under the impression that it's like chess..? It's a racing game, so it's really more like Sorry or parcheesi... Anyway, senet was sometimes considered to be a representation of the spiritual journey to the afterlife, and is even mentioned in the Book of the Dead. ~~Basically, you know Life? Monopoly's runner-up for the title of "most weirdly depressing board game that everyone still voluntarily plays for whatever reason"? It's kinda like that, but cooler.~~ As for specifically what he's referring to here, one of the generally agreed upon rules is that when a pawn lands on the space marked with a water symbol near the end of the board, it has to go all the way back to the space marked with the ankh, at the halfway point on the board.  
>  As for twenty-square, that's another name for the Royal Game of Ur, a very similar game that originated in Mesopotamia but was popular all across the ancient Middle East, with Egypt being no exception. Unlike senet, we actually do know how this one was played (or at least one version of it, since again, rules likely varied), thanks to a few ancient texts describing the rules in detail. Yet weirdly enough, the name(s) of the game are still unknown, and both names are modern nicknames, with the latter referring to the fact that the game was first rediscovered at the royal cemetary in Ur. Although the Royal Game of Ur is the more commonly used name, I've opted to call it 20-square instead because it just sounds a bit more sensible in this context.
> 
> 6\. Hieratic was a simplified calligraphic script used in ancient Egypt, based off of hieroglyphs. Even though hieroglyphics is the more famous script, hieratic was actually way more common for use in everyday life, and hieroglyphs were mostly used for religion-related stuff (including Fancy Royal Monuments). Hieratic is often described as "cursive" hieroglyphs, but I think that's a misleading term; A lot of English speakers (myself included) consider cursive more difficult to write, while hieratic was actually specifically meant to be simpler, because hieroglyphs were way the hell overly intricate.  
> Also, shoutout to unicode for not including hieratic, and thereby preventing my nerd ass from making overly specific in-text comparisons between hieratic and Japanese.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Happy Halloween the 6th, time for some mild horror! Or is it comedy? Much like _The Lair of the White Worm,_ we may never know for sure. Either way, enjoy!

**_“YOU BASTARD, I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU!”_ **

Yuugi groaned confusedly as he slowly awoke, not yet quite sure what was going on-

...And then, a split second later he was out of bed, grabbing his recently-repaired alarm clock out of his new ghostly roommate’s furious hands just in time to keep him from throwing it. He quickly hit the stop alarm button, as his head reeled from the blood rush caused by sitting up so abruptly. 

_ “Stop  _ trying to break my alarm clock,” he ordered Atem, shooting him an irritated look. 

Atem gasped.  _ “How’d you get it to stop screaming?!”  _ he wondered in awe.  **_“UH, I MEAN… WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO TORMENT ME WITH THIS… THIS THING?”_ ** he demanded.

“Because school,” Yuugi replied simply, putting the clock down on the bed with sluggish, tired movements. 

Atem frowned in confusion.  _ “Huh?” _

Yuugi sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Look, I’ll-” he paused in the middle of a sentence to yawn- “I’ll explain after breakfast, alright? You just…” he waved his hands vaguely in Atem’s direction, finishing off his statement with unintelligible tired grumbly noises. 

Atem raised an eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing as Yuugi stumbled slowly out the door. 

* * *

“Good morning, Yuugi,” Yuugi’s mother greeted him cheerfully.

“Mm,” Yuugi grunted in response.

“Something wrong, dear?” his mother asked.

Yuugi shook his head, with a sigh that soon morphed into a yawn. “Nah, I’m just tired,” he explained as he grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. 

He knew he’d feel more awake once he’d gotten some food in his stomach, as always. As if to emphasize this, his empty stomach growled as he put a generous helping of rice and natto into his bowl. He then grabbed a slice of bread and put it in the toaster, and began eating his natto rice while he waited for the toast to cook. 

For a moment, he found himself staring blankly at his food with a dull expression, contemplating the sheer bizarreness of his situation. This morning marked the start of day two of living with the ghost of a long-dead boy king, whose demeanor seemed to be a strange, conflicting mixture of… Well, about what you’d expect from the vengeful ghost of a dead pharaoh, and what you’d expect from your average teenager. Just talking to him left Yuugi disoriented and mystified.

Although, to be honest, he did get a sense that Atem was… perhaps a bit softer on the inside than he cared to admit. Yuugi took his offer of friendship very seriously, and resolved to treat him with the same kindness and camaraderie as he would any of his other friends. 

...Which, now that he thought about it, was definitely one of the weird things. 

He was befriending the ghost of a king who had died three thousand years ago on the other side of the world. 

A ghost. Of a pharaoh. Actually existed, and was haunting Yuugi... And he’d decided that they were friends now. As if he were merely another one of his schoolmates, and not the plot of  _ The Mummy.  _

And of course, that wasn’t even the only weird thing that had happened to him within the past two days. There was also the fact that two guys who periodically bullied him had apparently finally realized that their behavior was uncool, and turned out to actually be pretty nice people..? And then they’d all gotten beaten up by a gang of delinquents who were trying to extort Yuugi for a ridiculous amount of money. (The effects of which he was still feeling; He winced as the movement of his jaw pulled at the delicate scab on the cut on his cheek, and he was sore all over.)

Yuugi’s life had gotten really, really weird lately.

“Earth to Yuugi! You’ve been staring at your breakfast for the past two minutes,” his mother informed him, interrupting his train of thought. Yuugi blinked in surprise- he hadn’t even realized he’d been zoning out. 

Without a word, he stood up and retrieved his toast, then sat back down. 

“You know, this is the second day in a row you’ve been extra tired. You better not be staying up late playing video games,” Yuugi’s mother warned him ominously, with a stern look. 

Yuugi shook his head. “I’m not, I just… Haven’t been sleeping well lately, that’s all,” he promised. Which, he supposed, was true to an extent- it was difficult to feel well rested when your sleep cycle was suddenly interrupted by a noisy ghost.

His mother’s expression softened in sympathy. “Well, I guess that’s understandable, given everything you’ve been going through at school lately… How are you feeling, by the way?”

“Sore,” Yuugi muttered, sighing slightly. “And tired, of course. I think today will probably be better, though,” he added- although perhaps it was more of a wish than a prediction.

“I hope it will,” his mother agreed with a gentle smile. “Good luck today, dear.”

“Thanks, mom,” Yuugi said gratefully as he dumped his dishes in the sink, and headed back upstairs.

* * *

When Yuugi opened the door to his room, he found Atem examining the window, looking slightly perplexed. As soon as he noticed Yuugi come in, he hastily moved away from the window, and attempted to look casual. Yuugi noted that the alarm clock was on the desk, rather than on the bed where he’d left it…

“Were… you just trying to throw my alarm clock out the window?” Yuugi asked slowly. 

Atem didn’t answer at first.

_ “No,”  _ he replied simply, after a suspiciously long pause.

Yuugi sighed. “Alright, look. I know you’ve never seen an alarm clock before, so maybe I should explain it better,” he decided. “The point of an alarm clock is to make sure people get up on time for school, or work, or whatever. You set the time you need to be up, and then it makes that noise to wake you up,” he clarified. 

_ “...Do you not simply wake up at sunrise?”  _ Atem wondered.

Yuugi shuddered at the thought. “Ew, no way! That’s way too early!” he exclaimed, shaking his head in distaste.

Atem frowned and gave Yuugi an odd look, but said nothing as Yuugi dug through his dresser for clothes. Once he’d found a set, Atem politely turned to face the wall. 

_ “So anyway, here’s the plan-” _

“What plan?” Yuugi interrupted confusedly, completely clueless as to what Atem was referring to. 

_ “For getting rid of… uh…”  _ Atem trailed off.  _ “...You know… him. Uh, the person who’s been extorting you?” _

“You mean Ushio?” Yuugi supplied helpfully. 

_ “Right, him. Ushio. I have a plan to make sure he never bothers you again,”  _ Atem announced, with a nod of conviction. 

“Alright then, let’s hear it.”

_ “First off, today you’ll bring the Millennium Puzzle to school with you,”  _ Atem began, launching into his instructions with clear, almost overenthusiastic confidence; He’d clearly thought it over quite a bit beforehand.  _ “If Ushio approaches you today, tell him that you have the money, and that he should meet you after school in a secluded location- wherever you think is appropriate, it doesn’t really matter,”  _ he clarified with a shrug. 

“But I  _ don’t _ have the money,” Yuugi pointed out, frowning uncertainly.

_ “I know,”  _ Atem assured him.  _ “Don’t worry about that. Just make sure you can convince him to meet you somewhere private.” _

“And then what?”

_ “Then you simply leave the rest to me,”  _ Atem replied, grinning rather self-assuredly.

Yuugi frowned worriedly for a moment, thinking things over as he retrieved the day’s necessary textbooks from the desk. 

“Are you sure about this, Pharaoh- I mean, Atem? I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” he admitted, looking nervous.

Atem raised an eyebrow at Yuugi.  _ “Are you doubting my capabilities?” _

“No, not at all!” Yuugi insisted quickly. “What I meant is, are you sure it’s ok to bring the Puzzle to school? Like, what if something happens?”

_ “Eh, it’s fairly sturdy, in my experience. I’m sure everything will be fine,”  _ Atem replied, waving his hand dismissively.  _ “I can take care of myself.” _

“Well, if you’re sure…” Yuugi reached for the Millennium Puzzle, and slipped the cord around his his head, letting the Puzzle rest against his chest.

For a moment, he simply stood there, just… Thinking, about how it felt to wear the Millennium Puzzle. To proudly bear a three-thousand-year-old Egyptian gold artifact, one he’d spent a little over half his life trying to assemble. There was something powerful about that, as it in that one moment, it finally hit him that this was all  _ real,  _ so real he could feel it physically, a comfortable weight and a cool smoothness resting right against his heart.

He took a deep breath and blinked himself out of his momentary trance. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, he picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

No matter what kind of strange and awe-inspiring things happened to him, at the end of the day, high school was still high school. 

Yuugi turned towards the door and started on his way downstairs, as usual- and then stopped abruptly, pausing where he stood with his hand hovering over the doorknob. 

“Hang on. Can other people see you, or just me?” he asked Atem, realizing the situation may have been a bit more complicated than they had thought. 

Atem made a thoughtful face, tilting his head slightly.  _ “Hmm… You know, I’m not sure,”  _ he admitted curiously.  _ “I guess we’ll find out.” _

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Yuugi replied, grimacing slightly. “Is there anyway you could, like… I don’t know… hide?” he wondered. 

Atem’s expression fell, and he shifted around uncomfortably for a moment before answering.

_ “...I mean… I suppose I  _ **_could,_ ** _ if the situation requires it… I’d prefer not to…”  _ he grumbled, frowning in distaste at the idea. 

He’d spent more than enough time alone, first in the darkness of the Puzzle for who-knows-how-long, and then in Yuugi’s room for the past two nights and a day. The thought of having to constantly keep himself hidden away, unable to talk to anyone or ever truly experience the world outside of Yuugi’s room… 

He understood why Yuugi couldn’t just be seen with a ghost following him around all the time, of course. He’d do what needed to be done, if it came down to it… But still, he hoped he could avoid such unpleasant measures.

Meanwhile, Yuugi frowned thoughtfully. 

“...Alright, as much as I hate to do this… I think I know how we could test it out,” he began after some pondering. “We’ll go downstairs, and see if anyone in my family notices you. If they see you, you hide right away, and I’ll pretend I don’t know what they’re talking about,” he explained. “Hopefully, it’ll be a weird enough experience that if we’re quick enough about it, they’ll just assume they imagined the whole thing.”

Atem nodded. “ _ Sounds good to me.” _

With that, the two began making their way downstairs- slowly tiptoeing, as if to avoid getting caught, though neither boy was particularly sure why. Atem glanced around curiously as he followed Yuugi, taking in the unfamiliar new environment with eager interest.

Yuugi, on the other hand, paid little mind to the house he had long since memorized every nook and cranny of. With routine, almost automatic ease, he walked down the stairs, past the kitchen, through the living room, and into the shop at the front of the house.

And then came the moment of truth.

“Good morning, grandpa,” Yuugi said slowly, watching his grandfather closely to see if he would notice Atem at all.

Yuugi’s grandpa paused his sweeping of the floor and turned towards Yuugi. “Good morning, Yuugi. How are you feeling?” he asked. 

He looked right past Atem, smiling warmly at Yuugi, oblivious to the fact that there were more than two people in the room. Yuugi and Atem shared a questioning glance for a moment. Did this mean..?

…Atem cleared his throat, and waved his hand in front of the old man’s face, just to be sure. Yuugi’s grandfather showed no reaction, only stared at Yuugi with a slight frown of concern at his delayed response. 

Atem sighed in relief, as Yuugi turned his attention back towards his grandfather to answer his question. 

“Tired, and definitely a bit sore, but… I’m ok,” he assured him with a slight incline of the head. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m as well as ever,” Grandpa laughed. “Good luck at school today, my boy. Stay safe.”

“Thanks, grandpa,” Yuugi replied, smiling as he put on his shoes and headed out the door.

* * *

There was no shortage of things for Atem to look at as he drifted along behind Yuugi, taking in all the strange new sights on the route to Yuugi’s school.

The strange, boxy things he’d previously seen only from the roof did indeed appear to be vehicles, consisting of colorful enclosed metal frames atop four thick wheels. Windows on all sides revealed the interiors to generally have two chairs in the front, and a bench in the back. What propelled these vehicles was a mystery to Atem, as he saw no sign of any living creatures pulling or pushing them, nor any sails or anything like that, despite the high speeds the vehicles were apparently able to achieve; Atem did note that they all made quite a bit of noise, and appeared to have faint traces of smoke coming from a small pipe on the back of each one. Perhaps they were powered by fire, somehow?

_ “Yuugi. What are those things called?”  _ he asked curiously, gesturing towards the vehicles passing them by.

Yuugi shot Atem a quick glance, but otherwise said nothing. Atem continued his questioning. 

_ “How do they work? How long have such things existed? How come you’re not riding in one? Do you not have one? Are they expensive? Are they- Hey, are you listening to me?!”  _ Atem exclaimed as Yuugi continually failed to answer. 

Yuugi frowned and made clear, deliberate eye contact with Atem for a brief second, before quickly shaking his head gesturing subtly towards the brown-haired girl walking next to him.

Atem blinked, looking offended for a moment, and then his posture seemed to deflate slightly. 

_ “Oh, right. I understand,”  _ he sighed, realizing what Yuugi was implying: If he spoke to Atem, other people would most likely think he was insane. Or possessed, or something. Either way, it wouldn’t be good.

It seemed the “life” of a ghost, no matter what he did, would always be a somewhat isolated one. But still… At least now he was able to leave Yuugi’s room, and see a bit more of the modern world. 

And anything was better than the time he’d spent alone, trapped in the darkness of the unsolved Millennium Puzzle.

Atem shuddered slightly at the memory of it, and shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. He instead turned his attention towards Yuugi and the girl, curious as to what sort of things teenagers in this era generally talked about.

“...At least it’s Friday, though,” the girl said with a slight sigh. “If nothing else, the weekend should be peaceful.”

Yuugi laughed nervously. “Haha, yeah… Hopefully…”

“Speaking of the weekend, are you doing anything tomorrow? I’ve been wanting to go to the arcade, we should go together!”

“Oh, um… I’d love to, but… I’m trying to save some money right now,” Yuugi explained with an apologetic tilt of the head, and a quick glance towards Atem. “Sorry, Anzu.”

Anzu smiled understandingly. “That’s ok. What are you saving up for?”

“Uh, It’s a secret!” Yuugi replied hastily.

Anzu squinted at Yuugi suspiciously, leaning in as if looking for hidden clues in his face. “This wouldn’t happen to be the same ‘secret’ you needed to go to the library for, would it? You’ve been acting kinda weird lately-”

“O-Oh, look, we’re at school already! I didn’t even notice! Well, I gotta go get some stuff from my locker, bye Anzu!” Yuugi exclaimed with a nervous laugh, rushing off before she even had time to respond.

Yuugi sighed in relief as he reached his locker, while Atem raised an eyebrow, watching Yuugi with crossed arms.

_ “That girl sure seems nosy,”  _ he commented, glancing back in the general direction they came from with a wary gaze.

“She’s probably just concerned, that’s all,” Yuugi explained, muttering his response as quietly as he could while changing his shoes, trying his best to look inconspicuous. “We’ve been friends since we were little kids, so-”

“Hey, Yuugi! Glad to see you’re still in one piece, pal!”

Yuugi stumbled forward slightly at the sudden too-enthusiastic pat on the back, eyes widening in surprise.

“G-Good morning… Jounouchi-kun,” Yuugi coughed awkwardly, blushing and hoping he hadn’t been overheard. “Um, how are you today?”

“Colorful!” Jounouchi replied with a grin and a thumbs-up, gesturing towards his prominent black eye. “I’ve been better, but I’ve also been worse, so eh,” he added more honestly, shrugging. “You?”

“Same here, I guess. I just hope Ushio leaves me alone today,” Yuugi sighed.

_ “He will,”  _ Atem promised darkly. 

Yuugi found himself forgetting about his act for a moment, staring at Atem worriedly. He still had no idea what it was he was planning, and that worried Yuugi… He trusted Atem, but would his plan succeed? Was it something that would potentially get Yuugi into even more trouble? Maybe Yuugi was just overthinking things. He did have a tendency to do that. But then again...

...Jounouchi frowned, unaware of the true thoughts going through Yuugi’s head. “Yeah, me too. Good luck today, Yuugi.”

Yuugi sighed once again. “Thanks, Jounouchi-kun.”

* * *

The rest of the morning passed… Well, about as ordinarily as it could, really. Yuugi tried his best to pay attention in class, despite his lingering anxiety; Atem stayed mostly quiet, but occasionally found himself unable to keep from blurting out questions, his mind bubbling over with curiousity about the things around him.

_ “How do those pens work? Is the ink inside the pen? How come it doesn’t all pour out at once?” _

_ “Why do the students have to wear uniforms, but not the teachers?” _

Yuugi did his best to occasionally answer questions when he thought nobody was listening, whispering quick, concise explanations under his breath, but there were few opportunities to do so- and even when there were, his brief answers often weren’t enough to satisfy Atem’s curiousity. Still, Atem continued. 

_ “What’s English?” _

_ “Why aren’t they teaching any practical lessons?” _

_ “Why does your math have extra numbers? What’s ‘eks’ and ‘zee’?”   _ “Those are letters.”  _ “Your math has letters in it?! Why?!” _

_ “What’s a mitochondria?” _

_ “Why does this room have a  _ **_skeleton_ ** _ in it?! That’s- that’s- what the hell kind of monsters-”   _ “Relax, It’s not real. It’s just a model.”  _ “...Oh.” _

And so, the day continued in much the same manner. Eventually, lunch time arrived, as it always did, and like always, the class used it as an opportunity to socialize. 

Surprisingly, Atem stayed quiet the whole time, not saying a word as Yuugi chatted with his friends about homework and video games and school gossip and so forth. Why Atem stayed so unusually quiet was a mystery to Yuugi. Maybe he was being polite, letting Yuugi have his social time without intrusion; Maybe he was listening intently, too focused on every word to have anything to say himself; Or maybe he was shy, or simply felt too out of the loop to be able to comment on anything. 

More likely, it was probably some combination of those things, Yuugi assumed. Either way, he was grateful to have some semblance of normalcy for a little while, at least until class resumed and Atem inevitably found a thousand questions to ask about everything.

* * *

The moment of truth came when Yuugi left class to go to the bathroom, and then made his way back, around 1:20 in the afternoon. It was there, just a few feet away from the classroom door, that he encountered just the person he’d been trying to avoid.

“Hello, Yuugi,” Ushio sneered, planting himself firmly in Yuugi’s way. “I bet you thought you were home free, huh? You probably thought that if you could just avoid me until the end of school today, the weekend would come and everything would magically turn out fine, right?” he guessed, voice dripping with smugness.

Yuugi swallowed nervously, breath catching in his throat. “Uh…”

Ushio’s grin turned into a scowl. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he snapped. “As payment for my troubles, I think I’ll be taking this-”

“No!” Yuugi gasped, jumping back just as Ushio reached for the Puzzle. At the same time, Atem hissed in disgust.

_ “Remember the plan, Yuugi!” _

“Listen, you pathetic little runt, I’ve had it up to here with you. If you don’t pay up, I’ll-”

“Um… I… I have the money!” Yuugi blurted out abruptly, finally making the snap decision to go along with Atem’s plan.

Ushio paused, raising an eyebrow at Yuugi. “Oh?”

“I have the money,” Yuugi repeated, taking a deep breath, heart racing as he lied- “But… Uh, well, you know I get beat up a lot, s-so… I didn’t want to just carry all that money around in my backpack because someone might, um, someone might take it so… uh… Meet me on the roof after school a-and I’ll pay you!” he finished, barely managing to stammer out the words.

Ushio stared at Yuugi with a frown, scrutinizing his face for a terrifying few seconds before finally relaxing. 

“Alright, I’ll believe you. But you better not be lying to me, or believe me, you’ll regret it,” he warned. 

Yuugi nodded vigorously, pale-faced and unable to say a word. Finally, Ushio turned around and left, at which point Yuugi leaned against the wall and slowly sunk to the floor in a trembling ball. 

“Ohhhh my god, I’m going to die. I’m really, seriously going to die,” he squeaked as the gravity of the situation hit him: If Atem’s plan (whatever the hell that even  _ was) _ failed, Ushio would… Well, frankly Yuugi wasn’t sure what he would do, but he really, really didn’t want to find out. 

Atem gave Yuugi a reassuring pat on the back- a strange sensation, one that made Yuugi shiver slightly with cold. 

_ “Oh, you’ll be fine. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being dead,”  _ he assured him with a laugh. 

“But I don’t  _ want _ to die!” Yuugi insisted, growing increasingly distressed. 

_ “You won’t die. Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Besides, only the most foolish of idiots would be stupid enough to commit murder at a school in broad daylight,”  _ Atem pointed out.  _ “If anything, the most he’ll do is severely injure you, I’m sure.” _

“Oh my god,” Yuugi whispered, putting his head in his hands. 

Atem frowned, seeing that Yuugi’s mood was… not really improving much. He sighed, and sat down next to Yuugi. 

_ “Listen. I know you’re nervous, and that’s perfectly reasonable, but everything  _ **_will_ ** _ be fine- I mean it,”  _ Atem said gently.  _ “I promise, I wouldn’t put you in danger on purpose. I would not be doing this if I weren’t completely certain of my victory.” _

Yuugi looked up, still biting his lip worriedly. “Are you really,  _ really _ sure?”

_ “Really, really sure,”  _ Atem agreed with a nod. 

“What is it you plan on doing, anyway?” Yuugi wondered.

Atem shrugged.  _ “I dunno. Something,”  _ he replied vaguely.  _ “I’ll decide when we get there, I suppose.” _

“That’s not very reassuring.”

_ “I have plenty of options, it’s fine,”  _ Atem insisted.  _ “And anyway, shouldn’t you be getting back to class? Won’t you get in trouble if you spend too much time out here?” _

Yuugi gasped. “Oh, that’s right!” he exclaimed, standing up abruptly, all other worries forgotten as he rushed to get back to class before it was too late. 

* * *

Yuugi felt slightly nauseous as he climbed the stairs to the roof of the school, trembling like a leaf, his heart racing as if it were going to beat right out of his chest. He couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of failure; His traitorous brain seemed hell bent on conjuring up as many different imaginary fates for him as it possibly could, each worse than the rest.

_ “Are you always this nervous?”  _ Atem wondered, as Yuugi paced back and forth across the roof.

“Are you always this unconcerned?” Yuugi muttered back with slight sarcasm.

Atem blinked, slightly surprised by the question. 

_ “...Well, to be fair, I am a king. I was basically raised to perform under pressure,”  _ he pointed out.  _ “But in all seriousness, I don’t think you need to worry this much. I have about as much of a chance of losing to this guy as I do to losing a game of senet to a child- No, less than that, actually,”  _ he decided, with a thoughtful look.  _ “Some kids are very talented, whereas Ushio is simply an idiot and a coward. Speaking of which…” _

Atem nodded towards the stairwell, eyes narrowing in seriousness. Yuugi followed his gaze as he heard footsteps echoing through the stairwell, and sure enough, a moment later Ushio emerged.

_ “I think I’ll be testing out a little theory of mine today,”  _ Atem announced ominously, and Yuugi had no time to ask him what he meant before Ushio interrupted.

“Alright, Yuugi, let’s cut to the chase. Hand over the money,” Ushio said flatly, arms crossed.

Yuugi froze where he stood, eyes going wide as he realized he had no idea what to do next. “Uh…”

Ushio tensed, a look of bitter realization crossing his face. “You don’t really have any money, do you?” he growled.

“I-”

“Just how cocky can you get? You really think you can just pull me around like this, you little twerp?!” Ushio snapped, grabbing Yuugi by the front of his shirt and lifting him off the ground with an abrupt shake, knocking the Millennium Puzzle painfully into Yuugi’s chest as he moved. “You piece of shit, I’ll show you what happens to people who try to blow me off!”

Ushio drew back his fist, and-

-And noticed the figure hovering behind Yuugi’s shoulder.

And paused.

The clear, sunny sky seemed to grow darker as Ushio stared in confusion, his eyes growing wide with dawning fear as shadows seemed to stretch around him. “Who-”

**_“HELLO, USHIO, YOU PATHETIC, ROTTING PILE OF LEECHES,”_ ** Atem snarled.  **_“YOU’VE DONE A GREAT MANY THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE, AND NOW IT’S TIME TO PAY THE PRICE.”_ **

Ushio jumped, startled, and practically threw Yuugi in his hurry to let go of him. “Wh-Who are you? _ What  _ are you?” he gasped- though even as he spoke, he frantically stumbled backwards towards the stairwell.

The stairwell door slammed shut with a loud bang.

**_“WHO I AM IS NOT IMPORTANT, MORTAL. YOU SHOULDN’T RUN FROM YOUR PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW,”_ ** Atem warned.

A look of panic crossed Ushio’s face, and for a moment, Yuugi wondered why he had ever been worried in the first place. But then Ushio recovered, standing up straight again and glaring at Atem.

“Whatever! I’m not afraid of you,” he spat.

Atem grinned.  **_“WHAT A PITY. YOU SHOULD BE.”_ **

Atem floated effortlessly over to Ushio, and just as Yuugi started to wonder what he was going to do, Atem abruptly vanished in a swirl of shadows. And then, suddenly, Ushio wasn’t in his body anymore.

It was clear who was now inhabiting Ushio’s body as what was presumably the real Ushio appeared next to himself, floating and translucent and utterly speechless with confusion and fear. The physical Ushio’s face shifted slightly, eyes more pointed and angular, irises a striking purple-red, mouth stretched into a grin that was somehow… sinister, yet a different kind of sinister from his usual expression. Ushio’s typical grin was smug and superior; Atem’s was mischievous, cat-like, almost gleeful even.

While Ushio trembled wordlessly, looking just about ready to faint, Atem stretched his- Ushio’s- arms out in front of him and flexed his fingers curiously, staring at his hands and humming thoughtfully.

“Now then, what shall we do with you…” he muttered almost tauntingly. (Hearing Atem’s voice come out of Ushio’s body was unsettling, to say the least.) “...Well, first off… How about a little taste of your own medicine?”

Atem reached into the pocket of Ushio’s pants, and the realization of what he was about to do was apparently enough for Ushio to regain his vocabulary.

_ “N-No, stop! Don’t, please..!”  _ he begged, but it was too late. Atem laughed as he flipped open the knife and slowly- cruelly, tantalizingly slowly- drew the tip of it across Ushio’s face from the height of his cheekbone to just below the corner of his lip, mirroring the wound on Yuugi’s cheek from the fight the other day.

“Ah, but it wouldn’t do to have a lopsided face, now, would it?” Atem teased, and repeated the action on the other side, as warm crimson blood flowed down Ushio’s cheek.

Yuugi could only watch silently, slightly dazed, as Ushio’s disembodied form screamed and begged for mercy, Atem cackled, and blood poured down Ushio’s face. Finally, Atem closed the knife and put it back in his pocket.

“Well, that was fun, but I think that’s enough playing around,” he decided calmly. He walked over to the edge of the roof, and, to Yuugi’s surprise… Began scaling the high chain link fence that surrounded the perimeter, climbing with unexpected ease.

_ “Please, just- Just get out of my body! I’m sorry! I’ll do anything!”  _ Ushio wailed.

“No,” Atem replied simply.

“Um… Excuse me, Atem?” Yuugi called out from below him, once Atem was about halfway up the fence. “What exactly are you doing..?”

“What’s it look like?”

“You’re not going to jump off the roof, are you?!”

“Obviously. What else would I be doing?” Atem answered sarcastically, without slowing his climb. “Why do you ask?”

“You can’t do that! That’ll kill him!” Yuugi exclaimed.  _ That _ got Atem to pause.

Atem glanced down at Yuugi with a confused expression. “Well, yeah. If he dies, then he’s someone else’s problem, and you don’t have to deal with him anymore. Is that not the point?” he wondered.

“You can’t just _ kill people!” _

“Why not?”

Yuugi paused, taken aback by this bizarre question, one that had been asked so innocently it was absurd.

“Because… I mean… It’s immoral, and illegal,” he answered slowly, confusedly. “And… it’s rude?” he tried for good measure.

Atem stayed still for a moment, frowning almost suspiciously, tilting his- Ushio’s- head in confusion as he thought about this.

“...Very well, then,” he decided, and jumped down from the fence, landing perfectly on his feet like a large and unusually ugly cat.

He turned to face the real Ushio- a frightening mirror image that defied reality- and glared at him. 

“You ought to thank Yuugi for saving your life,” he told him gravely. “I will let you go, on one condition: Swear to me that you will never harm, manipulate, or harass Yuugi or any other innocent person ever again, and that you will never speak a word of what you just experienced to anyone.”

_ “I swear!”  _ Ushio answered quickly.

“Do you really? Do you really, truly mean it?” he questioned, still watching Ushio with that same expression.

_ “I do! I swear, I swear, I swear! Never again!”  _ Ushio insisted, nodding frantically.

Atem let out a slight huff of satisfaction. “Then I will leave you be, for now. But should you ever break either of those promises…”

**_“...YOU KNOW WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE,”_ ** he finished as he materialized next to Yuugi with another shadowy flourish, back to his usual diminutive, bronze-skinned, incorporeal self.

Ushio gasped and put both hands over his heart, as if checking to be sure he was really back in his own body. As soon as he was certain, he made a mad dash for the door and pulled it open abruptly, running inside while looking more pathetic than Yuugi ever would have guessed he could look.

For a moment, the two remaining figures simply stood there quietly- Yuugi at a loss for words, and Atem smiling with the satisfaction of a job well done.

_ “See? I told you everything would be fine,”  _ he said cheerfully.

Yuugi stared at Atem with both eyebrows raised. “Uh… yeah… Thanks, I guess..?” he mumbled dazedly.

Atem grinned, an earnest, friendly smile this time, holding no trace of the malice from moments earlier.  _ “You’re welcome, Yuugi.” _

...Yuugi’s life was really, really,  _ really _ weird, he thought to himself as he slowly descended the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out way more serious than I wanted it to be... This happens to me on a regular basis. Everything I write seems to turn into angst and I blame this on my early childhood exposure to X-Men, lmao.

For the first time in what felt like weeks (though it had really only been three days), Yuugi slept peacefully through the morning, waking up of his own volition to the sound of blissful silence. It felt wonderful to finally wake up well-rested rather than disoriented and irritable.

As he sat up with a yawn, he noticed Atem lying on his stomach on the floor, propped up on his elbows, evidently playing with Yuugi’s old legos. (Had he taken those out from the shelf? Impressive that he’d managed to do so quietly enough to avoid waking Yuugi.) A pile of assorted pieces lay on the floor next to him, while in front of him was a colorful half-finished pyramid, perfectly square in shape, each level going up in equal increments.

For a brief moment, Yuugi simply watched Atem, and it suddenly hit him just how _young_ Atem was- as well as how new to the modern world he was. There he was, simply lying on the floor with a contented expression, building simple pyramids out of legos as Yuugi himself had done when he was little; Looking for all the world like a child excitedly playing with a new toy, even despite the the copious amounts of gold jewelry that adorned his body, his white linen kilt and dramatic purple cape, his outlandish eyeliner (even by Yuugi’s standards!), and the regal gold circlet that wrapped around his forehead.

It was strange to think that this… _boy,_ in every sense of the word, had tried to murder someone less than 24 hours earlier. Granted, after a firm talk with him later that day Yuugi had concluded that Atem was not a bad or immoral person, just… One with a very different view on death from most people. Which, in all fairness, was somewhat understandable given that he was a dead person himself.

...God, he really _was_ a dead person, wasn’t he? The whole thing was so weird. Yuugi shook his head in disbelief. It was too early to think so deeply about it all.

“Good morning,” he said instead, opting to keep things simple. Atem looked up, slightly surprised, as if he hadn’t expected Yuugi to be awake.

_“Good morning,”_ he replied politely, as he stood up, brushed off his clothes- as if there would somehow be dirt on them- and smiled, that same self-assured smile he always had, though slightly softer than usual.

_“Good news: It seems the alarm clock has finally learned to fear my wrath, as it rightfully should,”_ he announced, nodding in satisfaction at the clock on the bed.

Yuugi raised an eyebrow at Atem, and opened his mouth to respond in disbelief- and then changed his mind.

“Y-Yeah… uh… Good job,” he said with an awkward, forced smile, and a thumbs up.

(Better to let Atem think he’d “won”, Yuugi decided, than to admit that he’d simply turned the alarm off because it was Saturday. It was probably only a matter of time before Atem figured out how to open the window.)

_“So… Today you’re definitely going to start preparing to travel to Egypt, right?”_ Atem prompted, with just a slight edge to his voice that was halfway between nagging and threatening.

Yuugi resisted the urge to sigh as he answered. “Yes, I will. The first step is a little bit of research, so I’m gonna go to an internet cafe later,” he explained.

_“What’s that?”_

“It’s a place where you can go to use a computer if you don’t have one at home, they’re all hooked up to the internet, you pay an entrance fee and then you can... uh…” Yuugi trailed off, noticing the look of increasing confusion on Atem’s face.

Of course Atem didn’t know what he was talking about, Yuugi realized, he hadn’t been alive for thousands of years! He hadn’t even made it to the invention of gunpowder, much less the internet! If Yuugi was going to explain the concept of an internet cafe, he’d have to start from the very basics. The very, _very_ basic basics.

“...You know what, maybe it’s better if you just find out when we get there,” he decided after a moment, laughing nervously with dread at the thought of trying to explain the internet to someone who had never heard of it.

Atem frowned suspiciously at Yuugi, but otherwise dropped the subject. _“Alright… When are we leaving?”_

“In a little while,” Yuugi said with a yawn, stretching as he did so. “After I eat breakfast and shower and all that.”

_“‘Shower’?”_ Atem repeated confusedly, giving Yuugi a questioning look.

Yuugi blinked in surprise. “Ah, right… I keep forgetting just how much you don’t know,” he muttered slightly dazedly. “Ok, so, it’s… Sorta like a bath, but like…”

* * *

About an hour or so later, after breakfast, a shower, and a few Modern Technology & Customs 101 lessons, Yuugi finally set out for the internet cafe, with Atem in tow. With no one else accompanying them, Yuugi was free to talk to Atem as he walked- provided he kept his voice low and avoided gesturing or emoting too much, of course. (Which, admittedly, he wasn’t the best at, but at the very least, if anyone noticed they were evidently too polite to say anything.)

Though there were many internet cafes in Domino City, the one Yuugi most frequently patronized was a bit different from the dark, isolated complexes that so often served as virtual apocalypse bunkers for gamers, desperate students, and overworked businessmen alike. Instead, it was much closer to the “cafe” part of the name than other internet cafes; It was small, sunny, and talking was very much permitted, provided everyone followed general etiquette of course. As opposed to having a free self-serve drink and snack bar, the cafe instead offered an unusually low admissions fee, along with a menu of for-sale drinks and pastries (although Yuugi rarely ordered any of them, since they were a little bit pricey, and admittedly part of the reason he preferred this cafe was the low admission cost- something that made it popular with local teens in general).

“Hello- Oh, Yuugi-kun!” exclaimed the receptionist, a cheerful young woman with hair pulled high into a ponytail. “Haven’t seen you here in a while! How’d your exams go?” she asked.

Yuugi gave a shy smile. “Eh, kinda so-so, I guess. I passed everything alright, but I didn’t really get many especially high grades… Oh, I did get an A on my history test, though!” he recalled.

“Well, good job!” she congratulated him. “Anyway, how long are you staying?”

“Hmm… I guess an hour, to start with?” Yuugi decided, shrugging and taking out his wallet.

“Alright, that’ll be 100 yen.”

Yuugi handed over the required payment, nodded politely, and headed off to find a seat, surveying the room full of people.

_“Do you know that girl, Yuugi?”_ Atem asked curiously, as Yuugi sat down at one of the more private, cubicle-like computer stations towards the back of the room.

“Sort of, I guess? I mean, she works here, and I tend to come here a lot over the summer or during exam prep season,” Yuugi explained, speaking in a more normal tone now that he was semi-alone.

Atem watched with careful attention and wide eyes as Yuugi started up the computer, bright colored lights reflecting onto one boy’s face, yet not the other- even as Atem moved increasingly closer to the screen, as if hoping to find secrets buried deep within the field of pixels.

_“What is this thing? It’s so bright,”_ Atem wondered with awe.

“It’s a computer,” Yuugi answered.

Atem nodded with a serious look, as if absorbing this unfamiliar new word and committing it to memory. _“Okay, but… What_ **_is_ ** _it, though? What does it do?”_

“It… Does a lot of things,” Yuugi said slowly, not entirely sure how to explain. “I guess you could say it… stores information? And then it transmits that information in the form of pictures. And you can tell it what you want it to do, and it’ll do it, if it can,” he explained. “You can even use it to play games!”

_“Stores information and fulfills requests, huh…”_ Atem muttered thoughtfully. _“Alright then, let’s see… Ah! Tell me a story,”_ he ordered the computer in a commanding tone.

The computer said nothing.

Yuugi laughed. “Sorry, I think I didn’t explain that quite right- You don’t literally _tell_ it what to do,” he clarified amusedly. “You have to interact with it using certain equipment, and it can only do little things at a time.”

_“What do you mean?”_

Yuugi pointed to the screen. “See that little arrow there? That’s the mouse cursor. Think of it like a virtual hand. You move it with the mouse, here.” He gestured to the mouse on the desk, and then to the keyboard. “This is the keyboard. It lets you write things, and has a few buttons that tell the computer to do specific things, too.”

_“I see,”_ Atem said, watching Yuugi’s every move closely, like a diligent student listening to a teacher.

“So, for example… If I move the mouse like this, it tells the computer to move the cursor here,” Yuugi continued, sliding the mouse so that the cursor followed its movement to the side of the screen. “And then I click this icon here…”

_“Oh! The picture changed!”_ Atem gasped in surprise, as the screen turned mostly white.

Yuugi nodded, smiling. “Clicking that icon tells the computer to open up the notepad,” he explained. “Now I can write in it using the keyboard, like this.”

Atem watched as Yuugi hit the keys with practiced speed, barely even looking at them, relying instead on muscle memory. Almost instantaneously, the corresponding characters appeared on the screen.

_“What does that say?”_

“It says ‘hello’,” Yuugi answered.

_“Oh… Very impressive! How does the computer work?”_ Atem wondered.

“With electricity and stuff- Computers are really complicated, so I don’t know the exact details,” Yuugi admitted.

Atem frowned in confusion. _“Electricity? You mean like lightning? How does that work? I don’t hear any…”_

“Um, sort of, there are wires that-”

Yuugi’s attempt at explaining was ignored, as Atem evidently decided to answer his own question the moment he’d finished asking it, by poking his head into the computer monitor.

_“Woah, it’s like if rocks had guts!”_ he observed with a slight laugh.

“Hey, cut it out! You’re breaking it!” Yuugi exclaimed with a gasp, as the computer screen flashed wildly behind Atem’s translucent shoulders, the screen distorting with static and error messages while blasting eerie screeching sounds.

_“Oh, sorry,”_ Atem said quickly, removing his head from the monitor. He elected instead to sit on the edge of the desk, staring thoughtfully at the scrambled image on the screen.

Yuugi sighed, and reached under the desk to force-restart the computer. “Geez… I’ve heard ghosts can cause problems with electronics, but I never thought I’d have to deal with that myself,” he muttered to himself in disbelief as he waited for the computer to start up again.

The small cubicle was quiet for a moment, save for the whirring of the computer and the murmur of voices from the rest of the room. Atem was the first to break the long, slightly tense silence.

_“...It’s not… permanently broken, is it?”_ he whispered, with a guilty look on his face.

Yuugi bit his lip. “I sure hope not, I don’t know what would happen if it is… But hopefully it’s fine. We’ll find out when it starts up again,” he answered honestly.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the computer’s desktop reappeared on the screen, accompanied by the cheerful startup jingle that signified Windows 95.

“Alright, looks like it works,” Yuugi announced with no small amount of relief. “Now we can get to work.”

Atem watched with idle curiosity as Yuugi effortlessly manipulated the computer, bringing up images and text that meant nothing to Atem, yet Yuugi seemed so confident in. Clicking buttons, typing words and sentences… Atem recalled that the point of the trip was to find out how to get to Egypt, and wondered what part the computer played in this.

_“So what exactly do you need to do in order to go to Egypt?”_ he asked after a few minutes, when surely the computer must have revealed its secrets to Yuugi by now.

“Hmm… Well, first I have to see about plane tickets,” Yuugi began. “From there I can look at stuff like what airport I need to go to, how much it’ll cost to get there, hotel prices, and stuff like that, and then I can work out a total cost… Although I’ll... probably need to talk to my parents about it first,” he realized, grimacing slightly with dread at the thought of the inevitable conversation.

_“Not sure I really- ‘air-port’?”_ Atem muttered confusedly. _“Like, as in a port for boats, but… in the air..? Wait, don’t tell me there are flying boats now?!”_ he gasped in shock.

“Um… Not quite, but something like that,” Yuugi replied, with an almost apologetic look. “They’re called airplanes. They’re used to travel long distances in a relatively short amount of time. It’d probably take weeks to get to Egypt by boat, but a plane can get there in less than a few days,” he explained.

_“Wow… Modern technology is incredible,”_ Atem said breathlessly (in a descriptive sense, of course, given that he didn’t breathe in general). _“Although… Is Egypt really that far away? Come to think of it, I’ve been meaning to ask- What’s this country called?”_

“Japan,” Yuugi answered. “As for how far away it is…”

Yuugi trailed off, and instead typed something into the computer. A few clicks, and a colorful map appeared on the screen.

“See this kinda square area right here? That’s Egypt,” he said, pointing to part of the map.

_“Ah, I see the Nile!”_ Atem exclaimed excitedly, leaning closer to the screen- although not too close, not wanting to break it again. _“Although, the area seems unusually large… That whole square isn’t Egypt, is it?”_ he wondered.

“Yeah, why?”

Atem frowned, crossing one arm against his chest and putting his other hand on his chin, staring at nothing in particular and tilting his head in deep puzzlement. _“I mean… I suppose it makes sense to consider it our territory for political land-dividing purposes, but… Everyone lives around the Nile,”_ he pointed out. _“The vast majority of that area is nothing but empty desert. It’s not like there’s anyone living out there, or even any resources we would want, so it seems like overkill for all of that to be considered Egypt… And it’s so… square,”_ he repeated confusedly. _“I wonder what must have happened to result in the borders being drawn that way.”_

Yuugi simply shrugged, not having an answer to give. “I don’t know, but in any case, this little cluster of islands here…”

Atem watched as Yuugi moved his finger far across the map, to the northeast, past large countries and even part of the ocean…

“...Is Japan,” he explained.

_“...Oh.”_

Atem went quiet for a moment, feeling slightly dazed. However far he’d thought they might be- Hellas, Punt, Elam- seemed like a short walk down the road compared to the distance between Egypt and Japan. He’d scarcely ever imagined the world could even be so big, extending far beyond what even the furthest of Egypt’s travels had ever reached; The world he knew seemed to take up an almost laughably small portion of the map, with what seemed to be entire _countries_ easily dwarfing all of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Hellas combined, dozens of times over.

A wave of homesickness suddenly hit Atem, knowing that he was so inconceivably far from anything and everything familiar to him; He wondered just how the Millennium Puzzle had come to be so far from Egypt in the first place. How many times had it changed hands, traded away from one country to the next without a second thought?

Now, more than ever, Atem felt that returning the Puzzle was of the utmost urgency. He _had_ to ensure that Yuugi fulfilled his promise, no matter what. If Yuugi didn’t do it, who would?

How long would Atem be trapped alone in this strange, unfamiliar place and time, worlds away from home?

“Um… Are you ok?” Yuugi asked hesitantly after a moment. Atem blinked in surprise, having been so lost in his own thoughts, he’d practically forgotten Yuugi was there.

_“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine. I just… didn’t expect Egypt to be quite so far away, that’s all,”_ Atem answered quickly, hoping he looked more confident than he felt.

Yuugi gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, don’t let it worry you too much. We’ll get you home, I promise,” he assured him, almost as if he’d read Atem’s mind.

_“...Y-Yeah,”_ Atem muttered, not really sure what else to say.

(He’d have been lying if he’d said he didn’t feel gratitude towards Yuugi, though.)

Atem sighed quietly, and tried to focus his attention back on the present, watching as Yuugi typed more things into the computer, and then carefully read the results.

_“What are you doing?”_

“Looking up prices for plane tickets to Egypt,” Yuugi answered. “It looks like the average is about…”

He paused, scrolling through the page, and-

“...One-hundred-forty-seven- _thousand,_ two-hundred-and-five yen?!” Yuugi shrieked, just barely managing to control his volume enough to avoid disturbing the rest of the cafe.

_“Hmm, well, that certainly is a large number,”_ Atem said with a wise nod, his ignorant calmness a stark contrast to Yuugi’s slack-jawed horror. He paused for a moment, tilting his head thoughtfully.

_“Is travel by plane really that expensive, or is your currency just totally worthless?”_ he wondered. _“Or, do your people just like dividing things into very, very small increments-”_

“Atem, I know you’re a king, but… Please. Stop trying to talk to me about economics,” Yuugi begged, with an exasperated whimper.

_“Alright.”_

Yuugi sighed in frustration, leaning against the desk and running his fingers through his bangs, whispering despondently to himself. “Where am I going to get that much money…”

_“Is it really that much?”_ Atem questioned, frowning.

“To put it in perspective, my allowance is 800 a week,” Yuugi replied. “Even if I don’t spend any of that, trying to save up that much would take me… I don’t even know… Like, three years, or something,” he realized with dread.

_“Three years?! Damn,”_ Atem gasped.

“Yeah.”

Yuugi sighed once again, and went quiet for a while, before slowly dragging himself away from the desk and sitting up straight.

“Well, I guess I’ve got no choice, then… Looks like I’ll have to get a part-time job,” he announced, with reluctance. “Dunno how I’ll manage that, since it’s against school rules, but… I’ll figure something out, somehow,” he resolved, and gave his best- yet unconvincing- attempt at a confident smile.

_“...I’m… sorry for putting you through all this trouble,”_ Atem said quietly after a moment.

It wasn’t an apology said lightly; It was something he’d been thinking for a while, almost since “waking up”, but he’d been reluctant to voice it. Afraid, even; He couldn’t help but worry that if he expressed any hesitation, if he relaxed even the slightest bit, if he wasn’t completely forceful- if he gave Yuugi even the tiniest fraction of a reason not to make the journey to Egypt- that he _wouldn’t,_ and Atem would be helpless. He didn’t want to apologize, because he didn’t want to allow the thought that he might be in the wrong… But he really, truly did feel guilty for the burden he’d placed on Yuugi, such a kind, innocent boy who bore no blame for the theft of the Millennium Puzzle.

And yet, he found himself apologizing anyway. Because he knew it was right.

Yuugi smiled sympathetically at Atem- a genuine smile this time, if only a small one. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry you have to go through this,” he added.

_“Thank you.”_

After a long, somewhat solemn silence, Yuugi yawned and stretched out. “Well, I guess there’s not a lot more I can do right now, so I think it’s time for lunch,” he decided, standing up.

Yuugi logged out of the computer, put it into sleep mode, and headed for the door, with Atem in tow. He waved to the receptionist as he left.

“Oh, are you leaving? Be careful on your way home!” she called after him, just as Yuugi was about to open the door.

“Why?” Yuugi asked confusedly.

The receptionist gave him a surprised look. “You mean you haven’t heard? A dangerous convict escaped from Domino Prison,” she said, glancing around and lowering her voice as if afraid the convict himself might overhear. “It’s all over the news. They say he has a gun!”

“A gun? Yikes…” Yuugi shuddered slightly. “I’ll be careful, I promise. You be careful too, alright?”

“I will,” she assured him with a smile. “Thanks, Yuugi-kun.”

Yuugi smiled back, and nodded politely in acknowledgement before pushing the door open. “Bye, miss Mitani!”

“Bye! Come back again soon!”

The door swung closed behind Yuugi, and he squinted his eyes for a few seconds, adjusting to the bright outside light.

_“Out of curiousity, what’s a gun?”_ Atem asked as he followed Yuugi down the sidewalk.

“It’s a type of weapon that fires little projectiles, called bullets,” Yuugi answered, keeping his voice fairly low to avoid attracting attention. “It’s… Pretty much the most dangerous weapon a person can have. It only takes one finger to pull the trigger, so it’s really easy to hurt or kill someone, even by accident… Which is why it’s illegal for most people to own them,” he added. “If the prisoner has one, I guess he must have stolen it from a guard.”

_“That is concerning,”_ Atem agreed, frowning. He glanced around worriedly, staring at anyone who passed by with a narrow, serious gaze, as if searching for signs of danger.

“Yeah… But I’m not too worried,” Yuugi assured Atem. “The prison isn’t _that_ close to here, and it’s not like the guy would have any reason to go after me. I’m just gonna stop for lunch, and by the time I’m done, I’m sure the police will have taken care of things,” he decided with a shrug.

Although Atem remained on alert for a few minutes, it wasn’t long before he relaxed, the whole thing being practically forgotten as he instead became distracted by the sights around him. Yuugi, too, let the news move to the back of his mind, focused only on one thing: His desire for lunch.

It was this desire that led him to Burger World, a recently opened diner. He recalled Anzu telling him not to go there, that it had terrible food, gave people food poisoning… But it was nearby, cheap, and he hadn’t heard anything bad from anyone else, so why not? (Plus, if he was being totally honest, he kind of had a natural urge to try every single burger restaurant in Domino City, so there was that too.)

Yuugi’s stomach growled in anticipation as he walked through the front door of the restaurant, where he was immediately greeted by a cheerful young waitress.

“Welcome to Burger World! Single seat, or are you… meeting…”

Anzu stared at Yuugi.

Yuugi stared at Anzu.

Neither could say a word.

“...Haha, ok, this way please,” Anzu said after a few seconds, a dark edge to the professional voice that came from between the clenched teeth of her forced smile.

Yuugi stayed nervously quiet as he followed Anzu through the restaurant, not saying anything for fear of invoking Anzu’s wrath. Atem, too, was silent, watching Yuugi and Anzu with curiousity; Yuugi almost forgot he was even there, too distracted by the shock of Anzu working as a waitress, and the terrifying knowledge that she was, apparently, really, _really_ mad at him.

Yuugi wordlessly slid into the tiny booth Anzu led him to, pulling his arms close to his body and his knees together, as if afraid that he could offend Anzu merely by taking up too much space.

“So, what can I get you, Yuugi?” Anzu asked, still with that scarily unconvincing peppy attitude.

“U-Um. Just… just a… teriyaki burger, please,” Yuugi stammered hesitantly. “Uh, and a cola, please,” he added.

Anzu nodded with an unsettling smile, writing on the small notepad in her hand. “So that’ll be one teriyaki tell-and-you’re-dead burger and a cola, would you like fries with that?”

Yuugi shook his head quickly, and with that, Anzu turned around and stiffly walked away. Yuugi watched until she was out of sight, and then breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders drooping as he let out the held tension.

_“This place is weird,”_ Atem commented, reclining casually against the bench across from Yuugi. _“Doesn’t seem very pleasant, really.”_

“Well, I guess now I know why Anzu kept trying so hard to discourage me from coming here,” Yuugi mumbled.

_“I don’t get it. Why is she so mad at you?”_

Yuugi glanced around cautiously for a moment before whispering in reply. “Remember when I said our school doesn’t allow students to have part-time jobs? She probably didn’t want me to-”

Yuugi cut himself off as he saw Anzu approaching, and quickly sat up straight again, just as she put his plate down.

“Enjoy,” she said curtly, though a little less threatening than before, and turned to walk away.

“Hey, Anzu…”

Anzu paused, glancing back at Yuugi. “Hmm?”

“Um… Maybe I shouldn’t be asking this, but… What are you doing here, anyway?” Yuugi asked.

Anzu hesitated for a moment, seemingly debating how to answer, before sighing and relaxing slightly.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to laugh, alright?” she said quietly.

“I promise,” Yuugi replied.

Anzu took a deep breath. “Ok, so… You know how I’ve always wanted to be a dancer?” she began.

Yuugi nodded.

“Well, I’ve been thinking, and… After high school, I want to go to study in New York,” she announced, fidgeting slightly, as if shy about admitting it.

Yuugi gasped. “Oh, wow… That’s… A big decision,” he realized.

Anzu nodded. “Yeah, and an expensive one. If I want to be able to afford to go to school in New York, I have to start putting money away now… So that’s why you can’t tell anyone about this,” she explained. “I really need this job. It’s my secret, ok?”

“I won’t tell, I promise! You can trust me,” Yuugi assured her. “Good luck, Anzu!”

Anzu sighed in relief, and smiled at Yuugi, a genuine smile this time. “Thanks, Yuugi. You’re a good friend.”

Yuugi simply blushed, and gave a slight nervous laugh.

“On that note, I’d better get back to work now,” Anzu announced, standing up straight again. “Talk to you later, Yuugi!”

Yuugi smiled and waved as Anzu left, before eagerly turning his attention towards his lunch, with all his worries and nervousness finally dissipated.

_“A dancer, huh? That’s a nice aspiration to have,”_ Atem commented after a few minutes. _“She seems like she’d be good at it, too. She’s certainly tall enough.”_

“Hm? Anzu’s not really _that_ tall,” Yuugi said confusedly. “I think you’re just short.”

Atem suddenly looked offended, face turning red. (Ghosts could blush..? Yuugi decided not to think too hard about the logic there.) _“I- ...I’m still taller than you, you know!”_ he blurted out, suddenly uncharacteristically defensive.

“Are you really, though?” Yuugi wondered with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, I know- Why don’t you come sit next to me, and we’ll find out.”

Atem huffed, and easily slid through the table, settling next to Yuugi on the bench.

_“There, see? I’m taller. As I said,”_ he insisted hastily.

Yuugi narrowed his eyes at Atem in suspicion. “Are you sure you’re actually sitting _on_ the bench, or-”

Before the two boys could continue their debate any further, a scream rang out from the front door, echoing through the restaurant.

“Anzu!” Yuugi gasped, standing up abruptly, along with several other people. He looked towards the source of the scream to see a greasy looking man with “777” tattooed on his forehead, one hand holding a gun, the other wrapped around Anzu in a choke hold.

“Listen up! All of you come out with your hands up, and don’t say anything, or the chick gets it!” the man barked, pressing the gun to Anzu’s temple. “Don’t worry, though… I don’t plan on staying long. I’m just here for a quick drink, so do what I say, and I’ll be out of here in no time at all,” he added with a smirk.

As Yuugi and the rest of the restaurant’s occupants quickly obeyed, trembling with fear, the man reached into his pocket with one hand and grabbed a bandana.

“Heh, here’s a fun fact for you, sweet cheeks: Did you know people’s fear increases when they can’t see? After all, there’s a reason they blindfold death row inmates… Like me!” he cackled as he rolled up the bandana, and tied it around Anzu’s head to act as a blindfold. “Now then, who should be my waiter… You! The weak-looking little pipsqueak!” he shouted, gesturing towards Yuugi.

Yuugi froze like a deer in the headlights.

“Bring me some booze, and a pack of smokes,” the criminal demanded. “And I _only_ smoke Lucky Stripe, so don’t fuck it up, you hear?! As for the rest of you, get on the ground, and don’t try any funny business!”

Yuugi nodded quickly and wordlessly, still pale and shaking as he walked.

“I have a pack of Lucky Stripe cigarettes, they’re in my left coat pocket,” an old man volunteered as he slowly got down on the floor.

“The liquor is to the left side of the kitchen, you can’t miss it,” an employee added helpfully.

Silently, Yuugi took the cigarettes from the old man’s pocket, and made his way to the kitchen.

_“You’re not seriously going to just do what he says, are you?”_ Atem wondered in alarm as Yuugi entered the kitchen.

“Of course I am. I don’t have a choice,” Yuugi replied weakly.

_“You can’t do that! You can’t just give in to people like him, if they can get away with it once, what’s to stop them from doing it again?!”_ Atem insisted. _“No one will ever take you seriously! You have to show him that_ **_you’re_ ** _the one in control, not him, you have to-”_

“You don’t get it, do you?!” Yuugi interrupted suddenly. “I’m not you, ok?! This isn’t ancient times, and I’m not a king! I’m just… I’m just…”

Yuugi trailed off, lip trembling as he fought back tears.

“...I’m just a kid, and he’s… holding a gun to my best friend’s head,” he whispered.

Atem seemed as if he were about to say something, but lost the words. He lowered his head solemnly, looking both angry and sad, avoiding Yuugi’s gaze.

Yuugi rubbed his eyes, and opened the liquor cabinet. He placed both the cigarettes and a bottle of vodka on a tray, and with a deep breath, carried them out of the kitchen.

He found the escaped convict sitting at a table, with Anzu next to him on the bench, still blindfolded and looking quite uncomfortable.

“Took you long enough, shorty! You better not have been pulling any shit back there,” the man warned, waving the gun for emphasis as Yuugi put the tray down.

Suddenly, Anzu seemed to have a moment of realization, mumbling to herself with eyes wide behind the blindfold. “Wait a minute… Short, weak-looking… Yuugi!” she exclaimed with a gasp. “Yuugi, get out of here! Just run!”

“Shut up, bitch!”

A loud crack, followed by several shrieks and gasps of horror, echoed through the room as the man’s palm struck Anzu’s cheek, hard enough to turn her head to the side.

“Anzu!” Yuugi screamed.

_“Alright, this has gone far enough,”_ Atem growled. _“Yuugi, take off the Puzzle.”_

“What?!”

_“Just do as I say,”_ Atem practically snapped, and his harsh, commanding tone was enough to get Yuugi to hurriedly obey.

Yuugi watched as Atem took the Puzzle by its cord, and- paying no mind to the people around them- swung it hard at the criminal, hitting him square across the head.

_“Who’s the bitch now?”_ he muttered under his breath.

Anzu jumped slightly in surprise as the criminal flinched. She brushed a hand against the side of her head, frowning in confusion. “Huh? What was…”

“Ow! Jesus, what the hell was that?!” the man grumbled, rubbing his sore head, wincing in pain. After a moment, he opened his eyes again, and noticed the boy standing in front of him.

“Hey, where’d you come from, brat?! Didn’t you hear me tell everyone to get on the… floor…”

The criminal’s voice slowly trailed off as he began to notice certain details: Atem’s strange outfit, the way he hovered a few inches off the ground, the way the rest of the room was faintly visible through his body. The way his red eyes seemed to bore straight into the man’s skull.

**_“SO, YOU CLAIM PEOPLE BECOME MORE SCARED WHEN THEY CAN’T SEE,”_ ** Atem began casually, not even bothering with an introduction. **_“SHALL WE TEST THAT THEORY?”_ **

With a wave of Atem’s hand, the restaurant suddenly became enveloped in total, pitch-black darkness- save for a small circle of space occupied by Atem, the escaped convict, Anzu, and the table.

**_“AH, IT SEEMS YOU WERE CORRECT,”_ ** Atem observed as the man went pale, eyes widening in fear, and pointed the gun at Atem with shaking hands.

The sound of shattering glass and shocked, terrified screams pierced the air from somewhere behind Atem as the gun fired. Atem glanced idly down at himself, and then back up at the criminal, shrugging.

The man spluttered in fear, and fired several more rounds. More screams followed.

**_“YOU’RE NOT VERY SMART, ARE YOU?”_ ** Atem remarked sarcastically. **_“THE GUN ONLY WORKS ON PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE, YOU KNOW. HERE, LIKE THIS, SEE?”_ **

Just as the man pulled the trigger yet again, the gun seemed to move of its own accord, flipping upwards and-

And then it was over.

In contrast to the soft, gradual dissipation of the shadows, the room quickly erupted into chaotic noise- cheers, screams, crying, exclamations of shock and confusion, wondering what to do; The escaped convict, on the other hand, remained silent. Unmoving. No longer a threat, to say the least.

_“Alright, let’s get out of here,”_ Atem decided, tossing the Millennium Puzzle to Yuugi.

Yuugi caught the Puzzle perfectly and nodded. “Y-Yeah. Come on, Anzu, let’s go,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her away from the scene before she had time to say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might notice that the Burger World scenes differed slightly from canon (aside from the obvious ways, of course). I didn't want to make it just seem like a carbon copy of the original with Atem awkwardly pasted in, so I decided to change up some of the dialogue, etc.  
> On a side note, does anyone know what the ancient Egyptians called Greece? Like, any part of it? If you do, please tell me hdkjfhgkjhdfkjgk


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, I had to actually learn a bit about the TCG (or technically the OCG in this case, but whatever). Prior to this, all of my experience with Yugioh cards has come from a few of the video games, where I- a proud student of the Joey Wheeler School of Card Games- mostly just employ the strategy of "do things the computer says I'm allowed to do and hope something good happens". (Somehow I'm doing ok in Forbidden Memories though..?)  
> Oh also sorry about the cliffhanger. Lmao no I'm not have fun

“Who… Who was that?” Anzu asked as she followed Yuugi out the door, slipping away from the chaos in the restaurant behind them; The police could deal with that. 

“What do you mean? Didn’t you see the news about the escaped convict?”

Anzu shook her head. “No, I don’t mean him, I’m talking about the other person,” she clarified, pulling off the blindfold. “There was someone-”

Anzu paused suddenly in the middle of the sentence, eyes going wide. 

_ “Uh-oh,”  _ Atem whispered, and then vanished. 

“...Anzu? Are you ok?” Yuugi asked, after she’d been quiet for several seconds. 

“Yeah, I… I could’ve sworn I saw someone standing next to you just now,” she answered, frowning in confusion. 

Yuugi laughed nervously, glancing at the empty space that had previously been occupied by Atem. “Don’t be silly. It’s just the two of us,” he said hastily. (Had Anzu accidentally touched the Millennium Puzzle, somehow? It must have grazed her head when Atem hit the escaped convict.) 

“But… I was so sure…”

“Your eyes must be playing tricks on you,” Yuugi insisted. “A-After all, I mean, you’re probably in shock after what happened! I know I would be,” he added with another increasingly nervous laugh.

Anzu said nothing, frowning and staring at the sidewalk with a puzzled expression, as if deep in thought. 

“...Yuugi, you’ve been… Acting kinda weird for a few days now,” she said quietly. “I don’t know if the two things are related, but… I get the feeling there’s something you aren’t telling me,” she guessed, looking at Yuugi with a serious expression. 

(Serious, and yet… There was concern behind those fiery blue eyes.)

Yuugi avoided Anzu’s gaze, and fidgeted uncomfortably as they walked, not sure how to answer.

He had to say  _ something,  _ or- knowing Anzu- she would never leave him alone about it; If he lied, she’d almost certainly notice, too… But if he told the truth, how would she react? Would she think he was insane? Would she think _ she _ was insane? Would she run away in fear, or disown Yuugi, deeming him a creepy, dangerous freak?

Then again… Anzu  _ was _ his best friend, and not exactly faint of heart, if Yuugi was being honest. She hadn’t screamed when a man had shot himself dead right next to her, and she hadn’t stopped being friends with Yuugi when he’d started wearing eyeliner and spiked jewelry, so surely she couldn’t react _ too _ badly to him being haunted by the morally confused ghost of a dead teenage pharaoh… Right?

Right?

Only one way to find out.

“...Um, so… You know how working at Burger World is your secret? W-Well, I… have a secret of my own,” he began hesitantly. “If I tell you, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone, or… freak out about it, ‘kay?”

“I won’t,” Anzu agreed. 

Yuugi took a deep breath, and went quiet for a minute, brain fumbling as he tried to figure out how the hell to even start explaining his situation. 

“...Ok, so… um… I may be, uh, slightly… Haunted,” he tried, with a slight awkward grimace. 

Anzu’s eyebrows shot up, eyes wide with shock.  _ “Haunted?!  _ What are you- Wait, what do you mean,  _ ‘slightly’  _ haunted? You can’t be ‘slightly’ haunted, you’re either haunted or you’re not,” she argued. 

“Alright, fine, I’m totally haunted,” Yuugi gave in. “B-But it’s ok! He’s a nice ghost, really! Usually. I-I mean always, he’s always nice, he’s just- uh- …Well anyway, he’s my friend,” Yuugi insisted. 

“So then… This ‘ghost’ was the person in the restaurant?” Anzu realized. 

Yuugi nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Anzu paused, thinking over this information. 

“...So… How did this happen, anyway?” she wondered. “Is it your house that’s haunted, or..?”

“Um… Do you remember the legends grandpa told us about the Millennium Puzzle?” Yuugi began. 

“You mean about it being cursed by the pharaoh, the team that excavated it all dying mysteriously, and it supposedly having dark magic powers?” Anzu recalled sarcastically. 

“Yeah, that.”

“Oh my god,” Anzu whispered, putting a hand on her face in exasperation.

“See, it’s not so much that the pharaoh cursed the Puzzle; He’s just mad because it was stolen from his tomb,” Yuugi clarified. “Like, you know how in ancient Egypt people were buried with all their stuff because they believed you needed it for a proper afterlife? I guess he really liked the Millennium Puzzle, and when it was stolen from his tomb it interrupted his afterlife,” he explained, with a slightly sad look. “That’s why I’m going to find a way to return it, so he can go home.”

Anzu blinked, not really sure how to react. “Oh… um… I see.”

There was a brief pause, neither person quite sure what to say next- until Yuugi, feeling obligated to break the awkward silence, suddenly jumped. 

“O-Oh! I know! Um, do you want to meet him? I mean, what I mean is, I guess you probably should, since… It seems like you can see him now,” he realized.

“Sure. I guess I ought to thank him, anyway,” Anzu agreed.

Yuugi nodded, and paused for a moment, before gently tapping on the Millennium Puzzle (for lack of any other ideas). “Um… You can come out now, it’s ok,” he said hesitantly.

At first, nothing happened- And for a brief moment, the anxious part of Yuugi’s mind feared that maybe he truly  _ was _ insane- Until Atem suddenly reappeared, accompanied by the usual theatrical flourishes.

**_“HELLO AGAIN, MORTALS,”_ ** he said, glancing at Anzu with what seemed to be a slightly uncertain expression.

Yuugi sighed slightly in relief, and then smiled. “I guess you’ve sorta already met, but… Atem, this is Anzu. Anzu, this is-”

**_“THE GREAT PHARAOH ATEM OF THE TWENTY-FIRST DYNASTY OF THE THRONE OF EGYPT, SON OF PHARAOH AKHENAMKHANON-”_ **

“Haha, ok Atem, I don’t think she needs the full introduction-”

**_“KING OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT, DIVINE SON OF RA-”_ **

“Oh boy, here we go,” Yuugi sighed quietly.

**_“BELOVED OF THE TWO LADIES_ ** ,  **_HE FOR WHOM THE SHADOWS DANCE, KING OF GAMES…_ ** _ Uh, is that it?”  _ Atem muttered to himself, frowning as he tried to recall all his titles.  _ “Yeah, ok…  _ **_YES. YOU MAY CALL ME PHARAOH,”_ ** he finished with a decisive nod.

Anzu blinked, slightly stunned.  “Oh, um… Nice to meet you, Pharaoh, I’m… Uh, just regular Mazaki Anzu,” Anzu introduced herself, bowing.

**_“NICE TO MEET YOU AS WELL,”_ ** Atem replied with a polite nod, and a smile.  **_“TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, AND I WILL KILL YOU.”_ **

“Atem!” Yugi exclaimed in a slightly scolding tone.

**_“YES?”_ **

“...Hold on. Didn’t you just save my life?” Anzu interrupted. “Like, on purpose? Why are you threatening to kill me now?”

**_“...I- UM… D-DON’T QUESTION ME. MY THOUGHTS ARE… UH… BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION, PEASANT,”_ ** Atem decided hastily.

Anzu leaned over towards Yuugi.

“Why is he yelling?” she whispered confusedly.

“I don’t know, he does that sometimes,” Yuugi whispered back. “I’m not really sure why, I don’t want to be rude so I haven’t asked-”

**_“DO NOT WHISPER IN MY PRESENCE, MORTALS,”_ ** Atem interrupted.

“Okay, Atem.”

Anzu frowned. “I thought you said he was a  _ nice _ ghost,” she commented sarcastically.

**_“HEY! I AM NICE,”_ ** Atem retorted, looking offended.  **_“OF COURSE I’M A NICE GHOST. WHY WOULDN’T I BE?”_ **

“Umm… With all due respect, you  _ are  _ kinda yelling a lot,” Yuugi explained hesitantly.

Atem suddenly blushed, looking flustered.  **_“I… I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT. I’M NOT YELLING. THIS IS JUST HOW GHOSTS TALK,”_ ** he insisted, glancing nervously from Yuugi to Anzu.

Yuugi gave Atem a blank stare. “I’ve… heard you talk like a normal person plenty of times,” he said flatly. “Also, I don’t mean to be rude, but you are being kinda… Well, bossy… And you threatened to kill Anzu,” he pointed out. “Remember, we talked about this yesterday? Killing people isn’t nice?”

Atem frowned for a moment, looking uncertain and irritated, before sighing.

_ “...Fine, I guess I see your point,”  _ he finally gave in, with some reluctance, and turned towards Anzu.  _ “I apologize if I came across as cruel. Rest assured that while it is true that I could easily kill you if I wanted to-” _

“That’s not being reassuring, Atem-”

_ “-I would never hurt anyone without good reason,”  _ he finished, and then promptly stuck his tongue out at Yuugi.

Anzu couldn’t help but laugh slightly at this childish display, an amusing contrast to Atem’s formal, commanding way of speaking. “Alright, I believe you,” she decided.

The three of them walked in silence for a few minutes, taking some time to get used to each others’ presence. After a little while, Anzu was the first to speak up. 

“So… Pharaoh… How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Atem opened his mouth to respond, and then paused, frowning in confusion slightly. 

_ “Uh… Mentally, or chronologically?”  _ he asked.

Anzu shrugged. “I dunno, both, I guess?”

_ “I was sixteen when I died,”  _ Atem answered.  _ “I’m not sure how much time has passed since then. At least a few centuries, I assume.” _

“Grandpa says the Puzzle is about three thousand years old,” Yuugi added helpfully. 

Atem raised both eyebrows in surprise.  _ “Three thousand years? That’s, uh, more than I expected… I guess that would explain some things, though,”  _ he realized. 

Anzu, meanwhile, was quiet, a sudden sad look taking over her face. 

“You died… At sixteen?” she said softly. “That’s so young… I’m sorry. That must have been awful.”

_ “Yes, well… These things happen sometimes,”  _ Atem replied, shrugging.  _ “It was pretty unfortunate, yeah, but there’s nothing to be done about it now. If I spent all my time regretting my death, I’d be miserable.” _

“That’s fair, I guess,” Anzu admitted. “So then, how did you die?”

Atem’s expression suddenly grew dark.  **_“THAT IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN, MORTAL. DO NOT ASK AGAIN,”_ ** he warned. 

Anzu and Yuugi exchanged nervous glances. 

“You know, if you don’t want to talk about it, you could just say so- ...O-Or not, that’s cool too,” Yuugi backtracked quickly with a nervous laugh, seeing the glare Atem was giving him. 

Atem said nothing, remaining ominously silent- until he suddenly gasped, and pointed across the street. 

_ “What is  _ **_that?!”_ ** he wondered, bewildered. 

“Hm? What’s what?” 

_ “That animal. What is it?” _ Atem asked again, still pointing. 

“Oh, that’s a dog,” Yuugi answered. 

“Aww, it’s so cute! Look how soft!” Anzu commented excitedly as she noticed the dog in question. “What a good dog!”

Atem gave a snort that may have been amusement, or maybe disbelief.  _ “Well, you’re right about it being cute... But for real though, what is it?” _

“It’s… A dog,” Yuugi repeated flatly, raising an eyebrow. 

Atem rolled his eyes.  _ “Yeah, yeah, very funny, but I think I know what a dog looks like, Yuugi. Come on.” _

“Mm, no, I’m… Not sure you do,” Yuugi muttered with cheerful confusion.

While Atem continued to look mildly irritated, and Yuugi like he’d just met an alien doing a really bad job of pretending to be human and had to try really hard to pretend not to notice for the sake of being polite, Anzu came to a sudden realization. 

“...Pharaoh, how would you describe a dog?” she asked slowly. 

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “Huh? Um… Four-legged animal, long nose, eyes facing forward, ears that stick up, about this big-”  _ Atem stretched out his arms, and then put his hand at about his waist-  _ “Soft but not really ‘hairy’, really skinny waist, straight tail that wags when they’re happy, very good, very smart, perfect friends who will love you unconditionally because they’re just so damn good and we don’t deserve them but they love us anyway-” _

“Ok, what you’re describing sounds like… Maybe a greyhound or something,” Anzu interrupted, before Atem could get too emotional. “That dog over there is a papillon, I think. So they’re both dogs, just different breeds, see?” she explained. 

_ “No way. There is no way that little fluffy thing is a dog,”  _ Atem insisted.  _ “Nice try, but I’m not stupid. You two can’t trick me. Dogs are dogs, even in the future.” _

“But it  _ is _ a dog,” Yuugi promised him confusedly.

_ “It absolutely is not.” _

“...Dude.”

“Um, I hate to interrupt this… Truly riveting debate, but…” Anzu stopped, and gestured towards the modest house next to them. “This is where I say goodbye.”

“Oh, I didn’t even notice we were at your house already,” Yuugi said in surprise. 

Anzu nodded, and turned towards Atem. “It was nice meeting you, Pharaoh.”

Atem smiled.  _ “You too, even if the circumstances were… uh… Less than ideal,”  _ he added awkwardly. 

“Speaking of that,” Yuugi interrupted… “Um, Anzu… You’re ok, right?” 

Anzu’s smile seemed to fade just the slightest bit. 

“I’m fine, Yuugi. Maybe a little shaken up, and I’ll probably have a bit of a bruise, but… I’ll be ok, I promise,” she assured him. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright, well… Remember you can always call me if you need to talk or anything,” Yuugi insisted. 

Anzu nodded. “I know. Thanks, Yuugi. And the same goes for you, ok?” she added. “I’m totally open if you ever need someone to talk to about your weird ghost stuff.”

_ “Who are you calling weird?”  _ Atem muttered. 

Yuugi laughed. “Thanks. See you on Monday,” he said with a goodbye wave.

Anzu smiled, and waved back as she began unlocking the door. “Right. Bye!”

“Bye-bye!”

_ “Goodbye, Anzu.” _

* * *

On Sunday morning, Yuugi awoke to the sound of repeated faint whooshing, clattering, clacking, and thudding noises; Quiet noises, but audible, enough to sneak into his dreams, prompting his confused subconscious to insert all sorts of bizarre interpretations as to what they were. Dice rolling, yo-yos swinging; Video game enemies, skateboards; Slow-moving trains, bouncing pebbles; Spinning tops, a dog’s feet on a wood floor.

As Yuugi gradually grew more awake, though, he began to pay more attention to the noises, and truly notice that they were  _ there. _ And then he realized that he was dreaming, and that he was indeed hearing strange noises, and wondered just what the hell they were, anyway. 

Slowly, Yuugi blinked his eyes open, and glanced to his left, searching for the source of the noise. He saw some faint, indistinct blurs of movement, but it wasn’t until he sat up that he was able to clearly see the scene before him. 

On top of the desk sat several stacks of boxes, books, and other assorted things; Balanced on top of them was a game board, sharply angled downwards towards the floor. In front of the desk was Atem, staring at the strange setup with arms crossed.

Yuugi watched as a small toy skateboard suddenly levitated onto the top of the game board, and then rolled down, Atem following its motion closely until it finally hit the floor next to him. 

_ Clack. Clata-whoosh-clata-whoosh-clata-whoosh. Thud. _

And then it started over again, rising from the floor back towards the desk. 

“...Good morning,” Yuugi said, and the skateboard suddenly fell to the floor halfway to the desk. 

_ “Good morning,”  _ Atem replied politely, though he looked slightly startled.  _ “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” _

“Um… I don’t think so..?” Yuugi replied, frowning uncertainly.

Atem nodded, satisfied with this answer, and began cleaning up his makeshift skate ramp.

“Do you… Get bored at night?” Yuugi wondered softly, watching with an ever-so-slightly sad expression as Atem folded up the game board. 

_ “Yes,”  _ Atem answered honestly.  _ “But as you can see, I can find ways of entertaining myself, I suppose.” _

Yuugi gave a low, thoughtful hum, and watched for a little while longer, wondering if it was right of him to pity the other boy. After a moment, he sighed slightly, and stood up. 

“Well, we’ll have to think of some things for you to do, then,” he said, reaching over to stand the books back up where they belonged, smiling reassuringly at Atem. “If you think of anything you want, let me know and I’ll see what I can do, ok?”

Atem smiled back- a genuinely bright smile, for once, rather than the usual reserved quirk of the lips or devilish grin.  _ “Thank you! I’ll think about it,”  _ he decided. 

Yuugi started to make his way towards the door, and then paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. 

“Oh hey, do you want to come downstairs while I eat breakfast?” he asked Atem. “I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course, but I just realized I’ve been… Kinda abandoning you up here, huh,” he admitted with an apologetic head tilt. “Pretty inconsiderate of me. I’m sorry.”

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “Oh, I had just assumed you didn’t want me downstairs,”  _ he admitted. 

“No, that’s not it at all!” Yuugi insisted quickly, shaking his head for emphasis. “I just forgot that you’re kinda… You know… Stuck with the Puzzle, I guess,” he explained, gesturing towards the object in question. 

_ “I see… In that case, yes, I think it’d be nice to go downstairs for a change.” _

Yuugi smiled, and picked up the Millennium Puzzle, slipping its cord over his head. With that, he opened the door and headed down the stairs.

As Yuugi began making his breakfast, Atem glanced curiously around the kitchen, taking in the details. Though some things were familiar- the table and chairs, the hooks on the wall that held a variety of pots, pans, and spoons- other things were new to him, and he wondered what they were. It was a very boxy kitchen, he noticed, full of a large number of cabinets that varied in size from barely larger than the alarm clock to as tall as a person; Though most of them looked normal, others seemed mismatched, like they’d been thrown on as an afterthought long after the rest of them. 

“Aww, there’s no natto,” Yuugi lamented from in front of one such cabinet, holding the door open. Atem noticed a strange hum, as well as light and a mysterious fog emanating from inside.

_ “What’s up with that cabinet?”  _ he questioned as Yuugi placed a pan on the stove, and retrieved something from inside the mysterious glowing cabinet?

“Hm? What cabinet?”

_ “That one,” _ Atem said, pointing.  _ “It glows and has mist in it. Why?” _

“Oh, that’s not a cabinet- I mean, I guess technically you could consider it one, but… It’s called a refrigerator,” Yuugi answered. “It keeps food cold, so it doesn’t go rotten.”

_ “Wow! That’s impressive. Very useful. How does it work?”  _ Atem wondered.

Yuugi shrugged. “I don’t know. Complicated stuff. I’m not really much of an engineer.”

_ “That’s fair, I suppose.” _

Atem was quiet for a moment, as Yuugi began cooking an egg… But it wasn’t long before he asked his next question.

_ “What’s that?” _

Yuugi glanced up, and pointed to the sink. “This?”

Atem nodded, and Yuugi wordlessly turned one of the knobs, causing a stream of water to pour into the sink’s basin. Atem gasped in surprise and awe.

“This is called a sink,” Yuugi informed him. “This part is the faucet, and the part where the water comes out is the tap.”

_ “That’s amazing! And really convenient,”  _ Atem exclaimed.  _ “How does this one work? Where does the water come from?” _

Before Yuugi could answer, Atem once again decided to investigate for himself, sticking his head through the base of the sink.

_ “Oh, there are tubes in here! How does the water go through them? Where does all the pressure come from?”  _ he asked curiously.

“Those are called pipes, and you’re lucky the sink doesn’t rely on electricity,” Yuugi pointed out as he turned the water off again. “Remember what happened with the computer?”

_ “Oh, right… Sorry,”  _ Atem said, blushing slightly in embarrassment as he stood up again.

After a little more preparation, Yuugi finally sat down to eat a light breakfast of eggs with rice and chocolate milk. Atem sat down across from him, still glancing curiously around the kitchen.

_ “So. What are we doing today?”  _ Atem asked, as Yuugi ate. 

Yuugi paused for a moment to think about it- as well as to finish chewing- before giving his answer.

“Hmm… Well, it’s Sunday, so I don’t have school,” he began. “I do have some homework I need to get done, and I’d like to play some games if I have the time, but… I think probably what I need to do is start looking for a job. The sooner, the better,” he admitted with a sigh. 

_ “Do you have a plan?”  _

Yuugi nodded. “My grandpa actually runs a game shop, so I figured first of all I might as well see if he’ll let me work there… If not, I guess I’ll go to the shopping district and see if any stores are hiring.”

Atem seemed to perk up slightly at Yuugi’s answer, eyes glinting with interest.  _ “A game shop, huh? That sounds fun,”  _ he commented.  _ “What kind of games does he sell?” _

“Oh, all kinds!” Yuugi replied, so enthusiastic he had to pause for a minute before continuing- he’d forgotten he had food in his mouth. “Board games, puzzles, some video games, trading cards… Lots of fun stuff,” he finished cheerfully, once he’d swallowed his food. 

_ “What are video games? And trading cards?”  _ Atem asked curiously. 

“Um… Video games are like… Well, you remember the computer? How it had pictures on a screen, and you can make it do stuff with buttons? They’re games that work like that,” Yuugi explained. “There’s all different kinds, like fighting games, or puzzle games, or fantasy RPGs, or racing games… As for trading cards, those are…”

Yuugi trailed off for a moment, eating his breakfast in silence and frowning thoughtfully as he considered how to describe trading cards.

“...They’re like… They’re cards, little pieces of paper, with art and stuff on them, and you collect them and trade them with your friends. Some cards are more rare than others, and you can play games with them- usually involving some sort of battle, with different cards having different stats,” he explained.

_ “Oh, I’ve seen those in your room!”  _ Atem realized.  _ “I had no idea that was what they were for. Sounds fun!” _

“Yeah! There’s a bunch of different games out there, but the most popular right now are Magic the Gathering and Duel Monsters,” Yuugi continued. “Magic is the original, but Duel Monsters is my personal favorite, so that’s probably what you saw. There’s supposed to be a Pokemon trading card game coming out next month, too… Ah, I guess you wouldn’t know what that is, either,” he admitted with an apologetic head tilt.

_ “Nope,”  _ Atem confirmed.  _ “These card games sound interesting, though. Do you think you could teach me to play?”  _ he asked eagerly. 

Yuugi grinned. “Sure, I think so! Just let me get dressed and stuff first.”

_ “Of course,”  _ Atem replied politely.

Yuugi seemed a bit more energetic than usual as he cleaned up his dishes, humming cheerfully to himself; The opportunity to share his favorite hobby had instantly pulled him out of his shell, his whole face lighting up with a bright smile, and more enthusiasm than Atem had seen the normally timid boy display in all the (admittedly brief) time he’d known him. His cheerfulness was practically contagious, and Atem couldn’t help but smile as well, waiting excitedly as Yuugi rushed to get dressed and brush his teeth.

“Alright, ready to play?” Yuugi prompted not a second after he’d finished getting ready for the day, throwing his hairbrush into a drawer and simultaneously opening a different one. 

_ “I’m ready,”  _ Atem confirmed with an excited nod. 

Yuugi took out a small box from the drawer, and sat down cross-legged on the floor, motioning for Atem to sit next to him. He flipped open the top of the box, and pulled out a stack of cards, thick and glossy with double borders. 

_ “These cards look different from the ones I saw,”  _ Atem commented.  _ “The other ones weren’t as big or shiny. Or… pointy,” _ he realized. 

“Oh, these are the same, they’re just sleeved,” Yuugi clarified, taking a card out of its sleeve and putting it back again to demonstrate. “It’s a good idea to keep important cards in plastic sleeves like this, to protect them from potentially getting dirty or damaged. The cards I have in boxes are mostly unsorted common cards, so they don’t have any sleeves on them.”

_ “That makes sense,” _ Atem agreed.  _ “So, how do you play?”  _

“Well… Duel Monsters is a game for two players. Each player has a deck of between 40 and 60 cards- usually closer to 40, though,” he began. “At the start of the game, both players shuffle their decks and put them face down in front of them, and then take turns drawing and using cards. Both players start with 4,000 life points, and the goal is to reduce your opponent’s life points to 0.”

_ “You have to draw your own cards? That sounds hard. I’m no good at art,”  _ Atem said with a frown. 

Yuugi blinked in confusion for a moment, before finally realizing what Atem had said, and bursting into uncontrollable laughter. 

Atem’s face went red in embarrassment.  _ “Hey! What are you laughing about?! It’s not funny!  _ **_DO NOT MOCK ME-”_ **

“Sorry, sorry, I’m not- I’m not laughing at- I’m not laughing at your art skills,” Yuugi assured him between giggles, taking several deep breaths to try to control his laughter. “S-see, you don’t… You don’t literally  _ draw _ cards,” he explained once he’d mostly calmed down. “To ‘draw’ a card just means to pick it up from the top of the deck. Sorry, I should’ve specified,” he apologized again as he wiped a tear from his eye. 

_ “Oh. That… Makes a lot more sense,”  _ Atem mumbled, still looking slightly embarrassed. 

Yuugi nodded, and began sorting through the deck, searching for a particular card. 

“So, the main cards used in Duel Monsters are, obviously, monster cards. And the most important thing to know about those is attack and defense points,” Yuugi continued. “Basically, you compare stats, and whichever monster has the higher points wins. So, for example…”

Yuugi held up a card, pointing to the text underneath the art. Atem leaned in closer, examining the card with interest, wondering what the unreadable text said. 

“This monster is called Feral Imp. Feral Imp has 1300 attack points, and 1400 defense points,” Yuugi read off. “Meanwhile…”

He selected another card from the deck; This one seemed to grab Atem’s attention even more, making him gasp in surprise and reach for the card.

_ “Oh! This is...”  _ he trailed off, simply staring at the card with wide, intrigued eyes. 

“Pretty cool, right?” Yuugi said with a grin. “This is my favorite card: Dark Magician, the ultimate spellcaster,” he announced proudly. 

_ “Ah, now that I think about it I guess maybe it’s just a coincidence, but… It looks bizarrely like someone I know,”  _ Atem admitted. 

Yuugi raised both eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Who?”

_ “Mahaad, my friend and teacher,”  _ Atem replied.  _ “He was a great sorcerer, too. And I owe him a lot for putting up with me when I was a kid,”  _ he added with a wistful smile. 

“Huh. Interesting… I read in a gaming magazine once that the guy who invented Duel Monsters got the idea from some ancient art he saw while on vacation in Egypt,” Yuugi recalled. “Maybe he saw a painting of your friend, and used it as the basis for Dark Magician!” 

_ “That would be interesting,”  _ Atem agreed with an amused smile.  _ “I’m sure he’d be flattered. Probably.” _

Yuugi laughed. “Well, you can tell him all about it when you go back! Maybe you can introduce Duel Monsters in the afterlife,” he teased. 

_ “You joke, but I probably will,”  _ Atem confesse.  _ “I’m always looking for new games to try.” _

“You like games that much?” Yuugi said in surprise. 

Atem nodded.  _ “I love games and puzzles more than anything! I’ve had a knack for them since I was a little kid. That’s why everyone calls me the ‘King of Games’,”  _ he explained proudly. 

“I love games and puzzles too!” Yuugi replied with a wide, bright-eyed smile. “Talk about a happy coincidence! I’ve never met anyone who likes games as much as me, not even my grandpa. This is great!” he exclaimed in excitement.

Atem grinned right back, looking happier than Yuugi had ever seen him look before.  _ “In that case, you’ll have to teach me all the new games I’ve missed since my death! I want to try all of them,”  _ he insisted with eager enthusiasm. 

Yuugi gave a slight nervous laugh. “I don’t know if I can show you all of them, there’s thousands out there,” he admitted. “I’ll be sure to show you all my favorites, though! But first, let’s start with Duel Monsters,” he prompted, gesturing towards the cards they’d abandoned on the floor. 

_ “Oh, right, I forgot that’s what we were doing,”  _ Atem realized. He settled down slightly, taking on a more serious, focused expression as he studied the cards closely. 

Yuugi nodded. “Let’s see, where were we… Oh yeah, attack and defense points,” he recalled, picking up the two cards in front of him. “So, Feral Imp has 1300 attack points, and Dark Magician has 2500. When you attack a monster, you take the difference between their attack points, and then subtract that from the losing player’s life points,” he explained. “2500 minus 1300 is 1200, so in this case, whoever is controlling Feral Imp would lose 1200 life points. Now, if Feral Imp were in defense mode, on the other hand…”

* * *

Hours seemed to fly by as Yuugi taught Atem the ins and outs of Duel Monsters, sharing everything from the most basic rules to deck building tips and popular winning strategies. To most people, spending half a day doing nothing but discussing trading card meta would sound like a nightmare, but the experience was nothing but positive to the two boys; Atem was utterly fascinated by the game, eager to learn as much as he could, perfectly willing to listen to Yuugi ramble on as much as he pleased, while Yuugi was more than happy to share the finer points of his favorite game with someone who genuinely wanted to listen. Both of them were so absorbed in their discussion that they might have stayed there well into the night, had it not been for a knock on Yuugi’s door around three in the afternoon.

(Yuugi became painfully aware of just how long he’d been sitting in one spot when he stood up to open the door and his legs, previously so irrelevant he’d forgotten they existed, ached in protest and seemed simultaneously stiffer than stone yet wobblier than jelly.)

“Oh good, you are awake!” Yuugi’s grandpa greeted him the moment he opened the door. “I was starting to worry you might be sick or something, you never said good morning to me,” he recalled with a frown, somewhere halfway between worried and sad.

“I’ve been up for a while, actually,” Yuugi admitted, tilting his head apologetically. “I guess I got kinda… caught up in something, and forgot to say good morning, sorry.”

Grandpa glanced past Yuugi into the room, gaze falling on the cards laid out on the floor- oblivious to the ghost who sat cross-legged next to them, staring at him curiously- and shook his head in affectionate dismay. 

“Duel Monsters, eh? Why am I not surprised,” he chuckled, as Yuugi grinned sheepishly. “Well, anyway, can you watch the shop for me for a bit? I need to run to the store; Somehow your mother forgot to buy toilet paper last time she went shopping,” he explained with a grave look.

“Sure,” Yuugi replied, shrugging. He shot Atem a quick apologetic glance. 

“Great, thanks! I can always count on you, you’re such a good boy,” Grandpa said with an affectionate smile as he headed down the hall, motioning for Yuugi to follow him.

Yuugi winced at his sore legs as he descended the stairs, with Atem following not far behind. It suddenly hit him that he really  _ had _ been holed up in his room for half the day, feeling slightly dazed by the change of lighting, as well as the sudden growling of his empty stomach. Still, he said nothing, pushing quietly past the curtained doorway that separated the Mutou family home from the Kame Game Shop storefront.

“I’ll leave the register unlocked, but if you don’t feel comfortable dealing with customers, you can just tell them I’ll be back in a little while,” Grandpa told Yuugi. “Mostly I just want to make sure someone’s here so it doesn’t look like we’re closed for the day, since it’s the weekend and all… So don’t stress about it too much, alright? All you have to do is hang out for a while,” he assured him.

“Alright,” Yuugi replied obediently. “Any idea how long you’ll be gone?”

“Oh, probably about… 20 to 45 minutes, maybe less than that, depending on how long the lines are,” Grandpa estimated with a shrug. “Well then, see you in a little while.”

With that, grandpa headed out the door, slipping on a light jacket as he did so. Yuugi watched the door until he was out of sight, then stretched casually, and leaned against the counter. 

“Sorry about that,” he told Atem with an apologetic head tilt. “You’re welcome to keep looking at my deck, if you want, I’ll catch up when grandpa gets back,” he suggested. 

_ “Well…”  _ Atem didn’t bother finishing his sentence, gesturing towards the Puzzle that hung around Yuugi’s neck. 

There was a second of silence as Yuugi frowned in confusion, before he suddenly realized what Atem was implying. “Oh! I totally forgot about that, I’m so sorry,” he gasped.

Atem shook his head in dismissal.  _ “It’s alright, I’d rather be down here. Besides, I can’t read Japanese, so there wouldn’t be much point in it anyway,”  _ he added. 

“Hey, speaking of that… Why is it that you can speak Japanese, anyway? And how come you can speak it but not read it?” Yuugi wondered. 

Atem opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again, frowning and tilting his head in confusion. He remained quiet for a moment, utterly complex, before finally answering. 

_ “Perhaps… There are some questions we shouldn’t ask,”  _ he said solemnly.

Yuugi gave a slow, silent nod of understanding. 

Atem gave a thoughtful hum and floated up to sit on the counter next to Yuugi, glancing around in curiousity at the shop, swinging his legs idly.

_ “It really is a shame Duel Monsters involves so much reading. I guess not many people will be able to play it,”  _ he commented with a frown.

“Actually, most people can read, aside from really little kids and foreigners who never learned,” Yuugi corrected him. 

There was a pause. 

_ “...What.” _

“Yeah, having a school education is mandatory for everyone up until about 15 years old, and one of the things kids learn in school is how to read and write,” Yuugi explained.

_ “Oh… I… I see. That’s, uh… Good, I suppose,”   _ Atem said, slightly dazed.  _ “Hey, you should teach me to read.” _

Yuugi couldn’t help but wince slightly at the thought. “I mean… I guess I can try, but it’s… not exactly easy,” he explained hesitantly.

_ “Don’t worry, I’m a fast learner,”  _ Atem assured him, nodding and smirking confidently.

“W-well yeah, but most people start learning to read and write when they’re little kids and keep learning even through middle school,” Yuugi pointed out. “Japanese has three alphabets, one of which has thousands of characters- although only around 2,000 of them are commonly used,” he admitted.

Atem became even more quiet than before, staring slowly down at the floor with a wide-eyed, stunned expression.

_ “What the goddamn _ **_hell,”_ ** he whispered, almost fearfully.  _ “Egyptian only has two alphabets, with around 1,000 characters each, and hieratic is technically just cursive hieroglyphs anyway… Japan is insane!”  _ he exclaimed, looking back at Yuugi in horror, suddenly feeling rather stupid- on behalf of his entire country, no less.

Yuugi shrugged. “Technically, you can blame China. We just adapted their writing system to our language. Oh, and we also use the English alphabet sometimes,” he added casually.

Atem threw his hands up in disbelief and slipped off the counter.  _ “Alright, I’ve heard enough. Four alphabets, math with letters in it… Ridiculous. Masochists, all of you,”  _ he declared, shaking his head and turning away from Yuugi.

Yuugi could only laugh as he watched Atem walk away and begin exploring the shop, still muttering complaints about “modern insanity” under his breath while examining the various games on the shelves.

“Ah, that reminds me! I forgot I have homework to do,” Yuugi realized. He then removed the Millennium Puzzle, placed it on the counter, and rushed off to get his backpack before returning moments later.

There was a lazy quietness to the shop as time slowly passed by, the whole building empty save for the two boys. Hazy late summer afternoon light filtered through the front windows, highlighting the particles of dust that floated gently through the air, casting odd lighting effects on Atem’s semi-translucent form; The room was quiet aside from the steady ticking of the wall clock, the gentle background hum of the electrical system, and the occasional question from Atem, or Yuugi thinking out loud as he worked on his homework.

“‘Explain what effect… seismic activity… tsunamis…’ Hell if I remember,” Yuugi muttered under his breath as he frowned at his homework in confusion. “I don’t suppose you know anything about plate tectonics, do you?” he questioned, glancing up at Atem, who was currently standing on the other side of the room.

_ “I have no idea what that is,”  _ Atem answered honestly as he examined a Duel Monsters promotional poster.

Yuugi sighed. “Yeah, I figured. Oh well. Thought I might as well-”

Before Yuugi could finish his sentence, the front door opened, jingling the small bell that hung from the ceiling. Yuugi glanced up, and frowned slightly in disappointment upon realizing that it wasn’t his grandfather- but quickly switched to a polite, professional smile.

“Hello,” he greeted the three young boys who rushed into the shop.

His voice seemed to barely even reach the boys as they chattered loudly to each other, running excitedly and shoving past each other a bit, as young kids often tended to do. In fact, they didn’t seem to really notice Yuugi at all until they went up to the counter, staring at him with looks of confusion.

“Hey, what happened to the old guy who’s always here?” one of the boys asked.

“He had to run to the store, he’ll be back in a little while. I’m his grandson,” Yuugi answered with a friendly smile. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit of fond pride, knowing his grandpa had made an impression on his regular customers.

“Oh, ok. You got the new Duel Monsters?” the boy continued.

Yuugi nodded. “Sure, hang on.”

He glanced across the shelves under the counter for a moment, searching. “Let’s see… Ah, here it is,” he announced, pulling out a colorfully packaged box labeled Duel Monsters Vol. 5. “It’s 138 yen for one pack, or three for 345,” he informed them.

As the three boys turned around to debate amongst themselves how to divide up their money, Atem lazily drifted back over to the counter, standing next to Yuugi and watching the boys with an amused look.

“Duel Monsters is pretty popular with kids,” Yuugi whispered to Atem, when he was certain the boys weren’t paying attention.

_ “So it seems,”  _ Atem laughed.  _ “...Kids who… can read,”  _ he added slowly as an afterthought, smile gradually fading to an expression somewhere between confused, annoyed, and terrified.

After a few minutes, the boys turned back around, with the one seemingly designated as the leader going right up to the counter. 

“We’re gonna buy six!” he announced, offering the money towards Yuugi.

Yuugi let the coins fall into his open hand, and dropped them one by one onto the counter, muttering under his breath as he counted them slowly. “100, 200, 250, 300… 310, 320… 330… Sorry I’m so slow, I don’t normally do this,” he admitted with an apologetic, nervous smile.

“That’s ok,” the boy responded as Yuugi continued counting, with the other boys murmuring in agreement.

After a few more seconds, Yuugi nodded, satisfied that he’d been given the correct amount, and took six colorfully wrapped booster packs out of the box. “Hope you guys get some good cards!” he said cheerfully as he handed them to the boy.

The three boys thanked Yuugi politely before leaving, excitedly pulling open their booster packs even as they practically ran out of the shop.

For a moment, the room was silent once more. Yuugi yawned, and glanced at the pile of money on the counter, having forgotten it was there. He then glanced back at the cash register, and frowned slightly.

“Hmm… I’m not totally sure how this works, so I guess I’ll just wait until grandpa gets back and let him deal with it,” he mumbled. “Probably should’ve asked him how-”

_ “Teach me how to read Japanese,”  _ Atem suddenly demanded, interrupting Yuugi’s train of thought.

Yuugi blinked at him, surprised, and then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Are you mad that those kids can read and you can’t?” he guessed.

**_“No,”_ ** Atem snapped, in a tone that told Yuugi that he absolutely was. Then, more carefully, tersely, he added,  _ “I would like… To learn to read, so I can play more games.” _

Yuugi stared at Atem with an unconvinced look for a moment, before sighing. “Alright, fine, I guess I can at least try to teach you… But can we do it later? I have to finish this homework,” he insisted.

Atem nodded, just as the door opened once again.

“I’m back!” Yuugi’s grandpa announced, carrying a plastic shopping bag with the clear silhouette of a package of toilet paper. “Thanks for watching the shop for me, Yuugi. I got you a little something for your trouble,” he said with a wink, reaching into the bag and tossing something towards Yuugi.

“Yay, chocolate! Thanks, Grandpa!” Yuugi exclaimed happily as he caught the candy bar perfectly in both hands.

“Was it busy while I was gone?” Grandpa asked, skirting around Yuugi to take his usual seat at the counter.

Yuugi shook his head. “Not really, the only customers were a group of kids who came in all at once,” he answered. “They bought six packs of Duel Monsters cards, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to use the cash register, so I just left the money on the counter,” he exclaimed, gesturing towards the pile of coins.

“Oh, that’s right! I forgot you wouldn’t know how! My bad,” Grandpa realized, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to show you someday, if you ever decide to follow in your old grandpa’s footsteps,” he teased.

Yuugi and Atem exchanged glances.

“...Um… A-Actually, about that,” Yuugi began hesitantly. “Well, uh, I’ve been thinking… I really ought to get a part time job…”

“What for?” Grandpa wondered in surprise.

“I want an N64,” Yuugi answered without missing a beat, in a deadpan serious tone.

Grandpa sighed slightly. “Yep, there’s an answer I should have seen coming,” he muttered- but nonetheless smiled. “Well, I guess I wouldn’t mind having a little help around the shop! Remind me after dinner, and we’ll see about working out a schedule for you,” he decided.

Yuugi gave an excited gasp, and shot Atem a quick optimistic smile, which was returned in full. 

“Great! I promise I’ll work hard!” he assured Grandpa earnestly.

Grandpa smiled, and gave Yuugi an affectionate pat on the head. 

“I know you will, my boy. You always do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes for this chapter:
> 
> 1\. The only breeds of dogs that were really known to the ancient Egyptians were things like basenjis, greyhounds, pharaoh hounds (yep, the name is accurate, surprisingly), etc., which all look quite different from a lot of modern breeds, including many of the small dogs that are popular in Japan.
> 
> 2\. Afaik the standard for life points in the irl card game is 8,000, while throughout most of the manga and anime, it's 2,000. I decided to meet in the middle at 4,000, which I think they used during Battle City? Maybe? Idk, but yeah.
> 
> 3\. As I mentioned a few chapters ago, ancient Egypt had extremely low literacy rates (only certain members of the upper class could read and write), while modern Japan has some of the highest in the world. Those of you who have some familiarity with Middle Egyptian may note that there are in fact three scripts, not two; Demotic hadn't been invented yet during Atem's time, so he only knows hieroglyphs and hieratic. Also, I have no fucking clue how many hieroglyphs there actually are because every source gives me wildly different answers, so if you know more about the subject than I do, please do me a favor and mentally substitute the right number. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one took a lot of research... You'll see what I mean.

“Aww, geez, Yugi, you’re really killing me here.”

Yuugi could only offer an apologetic shrug, watching Jounouchi expectantly. Like many lunch periods, Yuugi’s friends had gathered around his desk- Anzu and Honda talking amongst themselves by an empty desk, and Jounouchi scrunched up in a chair across from Yuugi, gritting his teeth and staring at the cards arranged on the desk between them, brow furrowed in concentration.

And of course, an unspoken fifth member of their group sat casually on the floor next to the desk, as he’d done for the past week or so; Invisible and silent to all except Yuugi and Anzu, watching the game interest. He leaned to the side slightly to take a look at Jounouchi’s cards, tilting his head thoughtfully.

_“You know… It seems to me like there’s hardly any spell or trap cards in his deck. I think that’s the problem.”_

“Shh!” Yuugi hissed- If Atem revealed too much about Jounouchi’s hand, that was as good as cheating.

Jounouchi frowned in confusion at Yuugi. “Huh?”

“Oh, uh… Nothing,” Yuugi insisted quickly. “Your turn.”

Jounouchi glanced from his hand of cards to the desk once, twice, three times, before finally sighing in resignation.

“Alright…  Not that this is really going to help me much, but… I guess I’ll switch Flame Swordsman to defense mode, and end my turn,” he announced with reluctance, turning the lone card in front of him sideways.

Yuugi nodded, and drew a card, though he hardly bothered even looking at it as he added it to his hand. “Ok, I’ll attack Flame Swordsman with Gaia the Fierce Knight-”

“Yep, knew that was coming.”

“-And I’ll make a direct attack on your life points with Dark Magician. Good game, Jounouchi-kun,” Yuugi finished, smiling good-naturedly.

“Yeah, good game,” Jounouchi sighed in response as he began to clean up his deck, sliding the cards into a neat stack and looking over a few of them after he picked them up. “I just don’t get it… Why can I never win?” he wondered, staring at Flame Swordsman, as if looking at it long enough would reveal hidden secrets.

_“It’s because your deck is pretty much all monsters,”_ Atem repeated helpfully, though he knew Jounouchi couldn’t hear him.

Yuugi made a thoughtful face. “Hmm… Is it alright if I look at your deck?” he asked Jounouchi.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Yuugi took the deck and began flipping through it, being careful not to damage the cards (though many of them were somewhat battered already, as Jounouchi never seemed to put sleeves on any of his cards); The more Yuugi saw, the more his concerned frown deepened.

“Jounouchi-kun, your deck is… Literally nothing but monsters,” he said flatly, raising an eyebrow at Jounouchi.

“Well, yeah? I mean, the more tough monsters you have, the stronger your deck, right?” Jounouchi replied.

“Not necessarily,” Yuugi corrected him, shaking his head. “Spell and trap cards are important, too. They can do everything from powering up your monsters to preventing your opponent from attacking, so the right spell and trap cards can really turn a duel around,” he explained.

Jounouchi made a surprised expression. “Really? Huh… I always thought spell and trap cards kinda sucked, so I never put any in my deck,” he admitted. “Like, ‘draw two cards from your deck and add them to your hand’? Why would I want to waste deck space on something dumb like that?” he laughed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it.

Yuugi blinked. “...Pot of Greed is one of the most useful cards in the game,” he said quietly.

“...Oh.”

“Well, anyway… I think adding some spell and trap cards will definitely help you out a lot,” he reiterated. “It is true that not all of them are necessarily useful for every deck, but if you can pick the right ones, it’ll really help make your deck stronger.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind, I guess,” Jounouchi decided, nodding in confirmation. “Do you have any specific suggestions, or..?”

“Here’s a suggestion: How about you guys play something other than Duel Monsters for once?” Honda interrupted sarcastically. (It was the first thing he’d said to either of them for quite some time.)

Jounouchi leaned his chair and tilted his head back to look behind him at Hona, sticking his tongue out. “Aw, shut up,” he teased.

“As much as I would have… phrased it a little more politely, I kinda agree with Honda,” Anzu admitted with a half-apologetic shrug. “I mean, I like Duel Monsters too, but it’s all you guys ever want to do or talk about these days. It gets boring, you know?”

“Well, it never seems to bore you when you’re beating me,” Jounouchi grumbled bitterly.

Anzu gave an amused snort, and ignored Jounouchi. “Come on, though, why don’t you talk about something else? Like… I dunno… Yuugi, any interesting new games come out recently?” she prompted.

“Hmm… Well, I’m not sure about new _games,_ but I think there’s a new AD&D book out,” Yuugi recalled. “Some extra wizard stuff, I think? Or maybe monsters? I dunno.”

_“What’s that?”_

“What’s ‘AD&D’?”

Yuugi laughed slightly at the sound of both Honda and Atem asking nearly the exact same question at the same time. “It’s short for ‘Advanced Dungeons and Dragons’,” he answered. “Specifically Second Edition, in this case, although I know some people do still play First, but Second has a bunch more class options and stuff,” he added.

Honda made an expression of curiousity and slight confusion, shifting his weight slightly as he leaned against the desk. “You know, I’ve heard of that, but I don’t really get what exactly it is,” he admitted. “It’s like, board game Zelda or something, right?”

_“Oh, I remember Zelda! You showed me that one on the computer yesterday, right? The one with the little shield guy?”_ Atem recalled excitedly.

Yuugi nodded very briefly at Atem, subtly enough that the others wouldn’t notice, before quickly answering Honda’s question.

“Um… Kind of, I guess? It’s a tabletop roleplaying game. One person is the ‘dungeon master’, aka the one who runs the game and creates most of the story, while everyone else plays different types of fantasy characters. And then all the characters explore dungeons and fight monsters, using dice rolls to determine the outcome of attacks and stuff,” he explained.

“A few years ago Yuugi’s grandpa ran a campaign for the two of us, plus some of our classmates from middle school,” Anzu recalled. “I played a human cleric, and Yuugi was a half-elf ranger, and-”

“We both got brutally murdered by a mimic, and so did my dog,” Yuugi finished cheerfully.

“But it was fun!” Anzu added quickly, to avoid giving a negative impression of the game.

If Yuugi’s tale had come off as grim as Anzu feared, it certainly didn’t seem to discourage Jounouchi, who bounced excitedly in his chair. “Man, I’ve always wanted to try D&D! Never had anyone to play it with, though… My friends from middle school all said it was for nerds,” he confessed with a slight frown.

“I mean, they’re not exactly wrong,” Anzu pointed out. “But it is a fun game, so it’s their loss.”

_“I want to try this game, too…”_ Atem muttered wistfully, though he wasn’t really talking to anyone in particular, knowing he couldn’t actually be part of the conversation anyway.

“Hey, Yuugi! You’re a game nerd, let’s play D&D together,” Jounouchi blurted out suddenly, the moment the thought occurred to him.

Yuugi frowned uncertainly. “D&D isn’t really the sort of game you can just start playing on a moment’s notice,” he replied. “It takes time and planning, and-”

“Pleeeeease?” Jounouchi begged. “You’re like, the only person I know who could run a campaign, man! C’mon, bro, I wanna be a knight,” he insisted.

“I-I dunno, Jounouchi-kun… I mean, I don’t have a ton of free time now that I’m helping grandpa out...”

Jounouchi bounced up and down, so energetically that his chair shook and clattered loudly. “Please please please please please please please please please please-”

“Okay, okay!” Yuugi gave in with an abrupt shout, just to get Jounouchi to be quiet. “I guess I can do Saturday nights,” he finished with a sigh.

“Fuck yeah!” Jounouchi cheered.

Anzu laughed. “Well, as long as you’re running a campaign… Mind if I join?” she asked.

“Sure,” Yuugi replied. “Honda-kun, do you want to play?”

“Yeah, I guess I might as well give it a try,” Honda decided, shrugging. “How do you play, exactly?”

Yuugi paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as he tried to decide how best to answer a question that was far, far more complicated than poor naive, unwitting Honda could ever have guessed.

“W-Well… It’s kind of, um… Complicated,” he began hesitantly. “There’s actually an entire book full of rules, called the Player’s Handbook. So you’ll need a copy of that,” he explained.

Honda raised an eyebrow. “A whole book? Geez…”

“Yeah, and make sure you only get _Advanced_ Dungeons and Dragons, _Second_ Edition. There’s a bunch of differences in rules between different versions of the game, so it’s important to make sure everyone’s on the same page,” Yuugi added.

As he explained this, Anzu stared silently at nothing in particular, brow furrowed in a forlorn expression. Although the other three were too busy talking to notice, Anzu’s odd look was not lost on Atem, who stood up and walked over to her side.

_“You look rather concerned,”_ he observed amusedly. _“What’s on your mind?”_

Anzu glanced at Atem before replying, careful to phrase her answer in such a way that it seemed like a general statement to the group. “Are we really going to survive with a party of three people?”

“It’ll be tougher than if you had more players, probably, but it can be done,” Yuugi assured her with a nod. “You just have to be careful about your team comp. As long as you have a cleric and some sort of tank, I think it’ll be fine… Probably. Maybe.” He frowned uncertainly as he finished.

“How many people usually play?” Honda asked.

“A party of four to six characters is usually ideal,” Yuugi answered.

“Well, there’s four of us,” Jounouchi pointed out. “So we should do fine, right?”

“The DM doesn’t normally play a character in the party,” Anzu corrected him.

“Oh… Hmm.”

The group went quiet for a few minutes, pondering this issue. Before anyone could come to any conclusions, however, the period bell rang, signaling for students to return to their seats.

“We’ll talk details tomorrow,” Yuugi called out after his friends as they left, and hurried to clean up the trading cards that had been almost forgotten on his desk.

* * *

Yuugi hummed an upbeat melody to himself as he walked home from school, accompanied (as usual) by Anzu and (as not-so-usual, but gradually growing more usual) Atem.

“You’re awfully cheerful today,” Anzu commented, with an amused smile that made it seem almost like a question.

Yuugi nodded. “I’m looking forward to playing D&D with everyone,” he explained. “I wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but… The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I’ve always wanted to try DMing, but I’ve never gotten the opportunity before now!”

“I think you’d make a good DM,” Anzu agreed. “You’re good with numbers and keeping track of things, plus you’re a really patient person. I could never DM, I’m too short-tempered,” she admitted with a slight embarrassed laugh.

“I’m not sure if I’m patient, or just a pushover,” Yuugi muttered under his breath. “...But yeah, I think it should be fun. I’ve already got some ideas in mind for a plot.”

“Well, hopefully it won’t be anything _too_ brutal. It seriously worries me that we only have three party members, especially given that Honda and Jounouchi are both inexperienced and prone to making stupid decisions,” Anzu said with a frown.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

_“This game sounds really interesting,”_ Atem commented as he half-walked, half-floated along next to Yuugi. _“I wish I could play with you… But I guess just watching sounds fun, too,”_ he decided, with a slight sigh.

Anzu gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Pharaoh.”

Atem gave a small shrug. _“It’s alright. I’m used to being a spectator by now,”_ he assured her… Though he failed to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Wait a minute,” Yuugi said quietly, with an expression as if coming to a sudden realization. “Maybe… Maybe you don’t have to be!”

Atem raised an eyebrow at Yuugi, looking unconvinced. _“Uh… Care to elaborate, there?”_

“You should join our campaign!” Yuugi suggested with sudden excitement. “Then you could get to play, and Anzu can stop freaking out about only having three party members, and it’ll be great!” he exclaimed.

Atem’s eyes widened in excitement at this idea. _“I… I can do that? Really?!”_ he gasped.

“Sure! I can teach you the rules, and help you make a character,” Yuugi promised with a grin.

“Um, hold on a minute,” Anzu interrupted. “I don’t know how to really say this without sounding mean, but… Are you sure that’s a good idea, Yuugi? I mean, he’s a _ghost.”_

_“And what of it?”_ Atem retorted, a certain sharpness to his voice, putting his hands on his hips and straightening out his posture to glare up at Anzu with all his five feet of height.

“I don’t mean to say that there’s anything wrong with that, of course! It doesn’t make a difference to me whether you’re alive or dead,” Anzu assured him quickly. “It’s just that, you know, if we’re being real… The other two don’t even know you exist. I feel like this could have the potential to end badly.”

Atem’s face fell slightly. _“...Yeah, I guess I understand what you’re saying,”_ he sighed.

“I think it’ll be ok,” Yuugi insisted. “After all, I… I trust Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun,” he said, though he sounded tentative, taking a deep breath.

“I do too, when it comes to most stuff, but it’s hard to say just how they’d react to a ghost,” Anzu pointed out.

Yuugi shifted uncertainly as he walked, staring at the ground in front of him, thinking this over.

(Atem, meanwhile, had stopped walking entirely, drifting along next to Yuugi, glancing at him every now and then before quickly looking away; Trying in vain to keep a straight face, but unable to conceal a clear mixture of hopefulness and worry.)

“...Well… um… I’m sure the existence of ghosts can’t be _that_ hard to accept, right? I mean, everyone’s at least a little superstitious, so it can’t be that far a leap, right?” Yuugi decided, though he was rambling slightly. “And Atem’s a nice ghost. A-And I bet they’d think it’s super cool! Like, how many people get to say they’ve played D &D with a real live ghost?! …Er, I mean, real... dead ghost?” he corrected himself, frowning in confusion.

_“Real extant ghost, perhaps,”_ Atem concluded with a decisive shrug.

“Maybe? I guess? …But yeah, in any case, I think it would be fun.”

“Hmm… Well, that is true, it _would_ be pretty cool to play D &D with a ghost,” Anzu admitted, with a slight smirk.

“See? We should totally do it!” Yuugi insisted.

_“I’d very much like to play,”_ Atem repeated. _“And… I think it would be nice if I could talk to your other friends, too,”_ he added softly, looking ever-so-slightly shy.

“...I guess it must be pretty lonely for you at school, huh,” Anzu realized quietly.

Atem nodded. _“I like being able to talk to you and Yuugi. I want to be able to talk to Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun, too. And… And I know you can’t exactly be seen just talking to thin air in the middle of school, so it’s not like I expect to have a particularly active social life or anything, but…”_

Atem fidgeted with hesitation for a moment, twirling the edge of his cape uncertainly around his fingers, debating with himself just how honest he should be.

_“...It’s nice just knowing that you two can hear me,”_ he confessed after a pause. _“You look at me when I talk, sometimes you try to respond in subtle ways, you laugh when I say something funny… The other two don’t do that. They don’t even know I exist. It’s… honestly kind of unsettling,”_ he admitted, with a slight nervous laugh.

“Alright, that settles it. You’re playing D&D with us,” Yuugi decided firmly. “No ‘buts’ or ‘what ifs’ about it. And I bet you’ll be great friends with Honda-kun and Jounouchi-kun,” he added with a nod of conviction.

Atem’s face lit up in a bright, excited grin. _“Really?! Great! I can’t wait!”_ he exclaimed. _“I hope we win!”_

Anzu and Yuugi exchanged amused glances, giggling slightly at this statement.

“You don’t really _win_ D &D,” Anzu corrected him with a laugh. “You just try to accomplish as much cool stuff as you can, and then eventually, you die. Preferably fighting something cool at a high level, rather than something stupid at a low level, but it’s more likely to be something stupid.”

_“Ah, I see… So it’s just like life, then,”_ Atem mused.

“Don’t say it like that… You make life sound so depressing,” Yuugi said, grimacing slightly.

Atem gave Yuugi a sarcastic look. _“Yuugi, I died before I even finished puberty. How optimistic do you expect me to be?”_

“Fair point, I guess.”

“How old did people usually live to in ancient Egypt, anyway?” Anzu wondered. “I heard most people died really young.”

Atem gave sort of a noncommittal handwave at this statement.  _“Depends on what you consider ‘young’, I suppose,”_ he answered.

“Meaning what, exactly?”

_“Ah, there’s your house,”_ Atem abruptly changed the subject, pointing to the house just ahead of them and not-so-casually ignoring the question.

(Anzu and Yuugi exchanged glances, but said nothing; Given how Atem had reacted last time they’d approached the topic of his death, it was probably for the better that he was only trying to avoid the subject this time.)

“See you tomorrow, Anzu,” Yuugi said with a wave.

“Bye,” Anzu replied cheerfully. “Oh, before you go, one thing- Are we determining stats by rolling, or point buy? And are we playing with proficiency?” she asked as an afterthought.

Yuugi paused for a brief second before answering. “Yeah, let’s do weapon proficiencies, and… I’m gonna say roll for stats,” he decided.

“Ouch, that’s cold,” Anzu teased.

Yuugi laughed. “I like rolling for stats, I think it’s more realistic. There’s no variety if everyone makes intentionally well-balanced characters,” he explained. “Why, did you have a specific class in mind, or something?”

“Oh, I dunno… I definitely don’t want to be a cleric this time, but other than that, I’m not really sure yet. I just figured I’d ask,” Anzu clarified.

“Well, you’ve got plenty of time to decide! Anyway, I should get going,” Yuugi said, glancing up the street as he remembered his new work schedule; He had some free time before his shift, but it was best not to waste it standing around.

Anzu nodded. “Right, see you tomorrow. Bye, Pharaoh,” she added, waving at Atem as well.

Atem smiled a little bit, and waved back. _“Bye, Anzu.”_

“Bye, Anzu!” Yuugi echoed.

With that, he hurried onward towards his house, even as his mind raced excitedly with endless possibilities for the upcoming game.

* * *

There was hardly a quiet moment for the rest of the day, with so much to talk about. Of course, Yuugi did have to work his shift at the game shop, but there were times when the shop was empty, and Yuugi spent practically every minute of them teaching Atem the rules of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Reading from the Player’s Handbook, spread open on the counter so Atem could enjoy the illustrations; Explaining things in his own words whenever Atem didn’t understand; Discussing details of gameplay and worldbuilding, such as why wizards couldn’t wear armor, where the concept of rangers originated from, and why bugbears were neither bugs nor bears. And whenever Yuugi’s grandpa was around, he’d ask him questions about DMing. In this way, the day seemed to fly by, until finally closing time came and Yuugi was free to do as he pleased (after having dinner, of course).

Yuugi wasted no time in heading directly to his room with the Player’s Handbook tucked under one arm, shutting the door behind him. He opened one of the desk drawers and grabbed a battered old spiral-bound notebook, a small drawstring pouch, and a pencil, walked over to the bookcase and took out a book- pausing for a moment, before nodding decisively and taking out a second book- and finally, he bounced onto the bed, dumping the collection of items onto the bed next to him. He propped the notebook up against his knees and started writing almost immediately, full of ideas he’d already mulled over during the afternoon, pausing only occasionally to consult his books.

_“What are you writing?”_ Atem asked curiously as he gently floated down onto the bed, sitting cross-legged across from Yuugi.

“Some notes for the game,” Yuugi replied. “I’m writing down notes about what kind of story I want to run. What kind of monsters you’ll fight; Things like that.”

_“Ooh, are we gonna fight a dragon?”_ Atem wondered excitedly.

Yuugi gave a slight mysterious smile. “Maybe. You’ll find out.”

_“What about orcs?”_

“Maybe.”

_“Bugbears?”_

“I’m not gonna tell you, so stop asking,” Yuugi finally insisted, shooting Atem a mildly annoyed look. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

_“Alright, fine,”_ Atem sighed.

Yuugi nodded, satisfied, and continued his writing… Before pausing for a brief moment.

“...There’ll probably be kobolds, though. Everyone fights kobolds at level one,” he admitted.

Atem laughed slightly, leaning back against the wall. He remained politely quiet for a while, simply watching watching Yuugi with relaxed yet ever-so-slightly mischievous curiousity; Eventually, he gave a gentle sigh, and sat up again.

_“You know, I realize now that I didn’t actually say this before, but…  Thanks, for letting me play with you,”_ he said quietly. _“I know it’s a bit of a risk for you, letting your friends find out about me and all, and I really do appreciate that a lot. Thank you.”_

Yuugi paused his writing and glanced up, listening to Atem speak. When he’d finished, Yuugi smiled warmly.

“You’re welcome! After all… You’re my friend too, you know,” he replied. “I want all of my friends to have fun together, not just the living ones.”

Atem smiled back. _“I’m glad to hear that. It means a lot to me.”_

“Oh yeah, speaking of which- Did you have a character in mind?” Yuugi asked, suddenly reaching over for the Player’s Handbook. “While I’ve got everything here, we might as well make you a character sheet,” he suggested.

Atem paused, tilting his head thoughtfully as he considered his answer.

_“...I think… I would like to play a wizard,”_ he decided, nodding in confirmation.

“Alright, cool.”

Yuugi picked up the small pouch, and emptied its contents- a set of gaming dice- onto the bed, tossing the 20-sided die to Atem.

“Here, you can roll for stats, and then we’ll- Oh, whoops,” he interrupted himself as the die sailed straight through a mildly startled-looking Atem, and hit the foot of the bed. “Sorry, that was dumb of me,” he apologized, embarrassed.

Atem laughed. _“It’s fine,”_ he assured Yuugi, picking up the die.

He stood up and drifted over to the desk, die in hand, excited to make his first stat roll. He held the die in one cupped hand facing upward, like he’d done so many times for so many games before, began gently shaking his hand from side to side, and-

...And the die fell _through_ his hand and onto the desk, landing exactly as it had been facing in his hand, without actually ‘rolling’ at all.

_“Oops,”_ he mumbled, quickly picking up the die to try again. He balanced the die in his hand, shook it gently and-

Once again, the die fell through his hand, this time falling slightly diagonally so that it hit the edge of the desk and fell onto the floor. Atem growled in annoyance as he picked the die up, letting it slide quickly out of his hand and onto the surface of the desk, where it rolled several times before coming to a stop. (Atem sighed slightly in relief.)

“Alright, first up is strength. What’d you get?”

_“Um…”_ Atem peered closely at the die. _“An oval with a line,”_ he announced.

Yuugi blinked in confusion. “What?”

_“The side of the die facing up has an oval with a line on it,”_ Atem repeated more clearly. _“Is that good or bad?”_ he asked, frowning slightly.

Yuugi’s look of confusion only increased. “Oval with a line..? What are you- You know what, let me see that,” he decided, putting his notebook down and climbing off the bed to go look.

Atem moved politely to the side to make room for Yuugi, who leaned over to look at the die, and instantly recognized the number on top.

“Oh, that’s just 10,” he realized. “Sorry, I kinda forgot you can’t read.”

_“Thanks,”_ Atem said sarcastically.

Yuugi gave him an apologetic look, and returned to the bed. “Here, I know what we can do. Just give me a second,” he said mysteriously, writing something down in the notebook.

Atem waited patiently for what wound up being only a few seconds before his curiousity got the better of him. He walked over to the bed and leaned over Yuugi’s shoulder; To his surprise, he saw Yuugi writing down symbols next to neat rows of circles, with the number of circles increasing every row by increments of one.

“Here,” Yuugi said, tearing the page out of the notebook and offering it to Atem. “You can use this to learn numbers, zero through nine. That way you can figure it out yourself, and I can stay here.”

_“Oh, that’s helpful… Thanks,”_ Atem replied, genuinely this time.

He took the sheet of paper and returned to the desk, studying it closely; He didn’t expect to instantly memorize everything, of course, but he did at least want to see each number, and try to get a feel for things.

_“...Your number system is, uh… Not very intuitive,”_ he muttered after a moment, brow furrowed in puzzlement at the seemingly random set of symbols on the page.

“What do you mean?”

_“Like… With hieroglyphs, everything is in sets of ten- Or technically nine, I guess,”_ Atem realized. _“One through nine is just lines equivalent to that number, and then ten is an arch, twenty is two arches, and so forth… Hieratic is a little different, but at least it’s still slightly more consistent, for the most part. None of these numbers even look at all related to each other,”_ he said with a frown.

Yuugi shrugged. “For the record, technically those are English numbers. Traditional Japanese numbers look different, but these days we generally use English numbers except for some formal stuff.”

_“Why?”_

“Hmm… I think part of it might be because English numbers are faster to write, but also they take up less space,” Yuugi guessed, twirling his pencil thoughtfully. “For example, with English numbers, ‘two hundred and thirty five’ would be written as ‘two-three-five’, while with Japanese numbers it would be ‘two-hundred-three-ten-five’. So it takes up a lot more space,” he explained.

Atem was quiet for a moment, thinking about this.

_“...I don’t really get it,”_ he announced after a very long pause.

Yuugi gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, really… Anyway, could you go ahead and roll for dexterity?” he prompted.

Atem nodded, and picked up the die to make his second roll.

Once again, Atem found himself encountering the same problem as before, over and over: Every time he tried to roll, the die would simply fall straight through his hand and onto the desk, landing exactly as it had been facing before. Yuugi watched and waited patiently as Atem- looking increasingly annoyed- focused as hard as he could on keeping his hand corporeal enough to support the die even as it rolled around, until finally he managed what he deemed a successful roll.

“Alright, what’d you get?”

_“I got, uh…”_ Atem glanced at the die, then at the sheet of paper with the numbers at it, and back at the die again. _“...Two ones?”_ he read, frowning in confusion. _“Is that… Two, or..?”_

“That would be eleven,” Yuugi corrected him. “Next up, constitution.”

Atem once again struggled with the die several more times, trying and failing over and over. Picking up the die, shaking it, dropping it again, picking it up again, dropping it… Growing more and more frustrated, muttering to himself through gritted teeth.

_“Come on- Come_ **_on,_ ** _you useless little rock! ...Ugh, you know what, then just-”_ He let the die fall with a frustrated huff, and hastily tried a new method: Telekinetically tossing the die into the air.

He did so with so much angry force that the die flung itself straight up into the air, hit the ceiling, slammed back down, and startled poor Yuugi as it bounced off the desk, against the wall, and right though Atem, towards the bookcase, where it wedged itself firmly between two books with a _thud._

_“Argh, enough already! Why the hell can’t I just roll the stupid die?! It shouldn’t be this damn_ **_complicated!”_ ** Atem shouted, throwing his head back in frustration. Several drawers in the desk opened themselves and then just as quickly slammed shut again with a loud, rattling bang, as if Atem’s anger had subconsciously shaken the entire room.

Yuugi blinked, stunned, from his spot on the bed- Where he still remained frozen in position from trying to avoid the ricocheting die, leaning away from the edge of the bed with his knees and arms pulled close to his body. After a moment, he relaxed slightly, watching with a mixture of concern and pity as Atem practically fumed with anger.

“Um, do… Do you want me to roll for you?” Yuugi asked hesitantly, giving Atem a sympathetic look.

Atem instantly turned to glare at Yuugi, opening his mouth as if to snap at him, but then… Paused. Stood there, looking tense, a number of confused, angry, and uncertain expressions crossing his face as he debated between reality and his pride, body language gradually deflating from furious to embarrassed. Defeated, almost.

_“...Yes, please,”_ he muttered reluctantly, avoiding Yuugi’s gaze and pouting slightly.

Yuugi smiled reassuringly at Atem as he stood up, moving his notebook and the Player’s Handbook over to the desk. He sat down in the desk chair, and rolled the die, with a still-somewhat-grumpy Atem watching over his shoulder.

“Oh, geez… You got a six for constitution, ouch,” Yuugi announced, cringing slightly. Nonetheless, he picked up the die and quickly made one, two, then three more rolls, pausing only briefly to write each result down on the character sheet in the notebook.

“Alright, your stats are: 10 strength, 11 dexterity, 6 constitution, 14 intelligence, 13 wisdom, and 17 charisma,” he read off, pointing to each stat in turn for Atem’s benefit. “Those are pretty decent stats! Aside from the 6 constitution, at least,” he added with a slight laugh. “Anyway, next step is to choose a race.”

Atem nodded, looking thoughtful as he moved to sit on top of the desk. _“Can you remind me what the races are?”_ he asked. (Though Yuugi had explained each one to him earlier that afternoon, he wasn’t sure he remembered all of them.)

“Well, obviously there’s humans,” Yuugi answered. “Then there’s also elves, half-elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes.”

_“Ah, right. I would like to be an elf,”_ Atem decided.

Yuugi glanced at the Player’s Handbook, flipping it open to a certain page, and then frowned. “Oh… Sorry, you can’t be an elf,” he told Atem apologetically.

Atem practically flinched in disbelief, looking offended. _“What do you mean, I can’t be an elf?! Why not?”_ he demanded.

“Elves require a minimum 7 constitution. Yours is only 6, so you can’t be an elf,” Yuugi explained. “You can be a half-elf, though,” he added helpfully.

_“That’s ridiculous… But I guess a half-elf is fine,”_ Atem agreed. _“Now what?”_

“Hold on, just a minute. I need to write down the half-elf stuff you get,” Yuugi said, flipping past a few pages in the book until he found the right one, and began rapidly transcribing notes. Atem waited patiently, idly examining the illustration on the opposite page, until Yuugi finally finished.

“Okay, so you said you wanted to be a wizard, right? Any kind of specialist, or just a regular mage?” Yuugi asked, flipping through the book some more.

_“Remind me what the specialist categories are?”_

“There’s abjuration, conjuring and summoning, divination, enchantments and charms, illusions, invocations and evocations, necromancy, and alteration,” Yuugi recited, glancing at the book.

_“Conjuring and summoning sounds cool, let’s go with that,”_ Atem decided.

Yuugi nodded, glancing at the list once again as he began to write it down, and then paused with his pencil hovering just over the page- “Oh, hang on, sorry; I didn’t notice this at first, but turns out you need at least 15 constitution to be a conjurer. Sorry,” he informed Atem. “...Actually, looks like you don’t have high enough stats to specialize in anything other than enchantments and charms.”

Atem made a noise halfway between a sigh and a growl, glaring at the book in irritation. _“Fine, then I’ll just be a mage. I suppose it’s probably better that way anyway.”_

“If it makes you feel any better… It’s time to pick your spells!” Yuugi announced, with no small amount of excitement.

Atem, too, seemed to perk up at this, looking up in interest. _“What spells are there?”_

“Here, I’ll read you the list,” Yuugi said, turning almost all the way to the back of the book, the thick pages flopping loudly against each other as he opened it to the spell page. “Let’s see… There’s Affect Normal Fires, Alarm, Armor, Audible Glamer…”

* * *

Several days later, Yuugi’s friends for once weren’t _all_ gathered around his desk during lunch; Given that half of their soon-to-be D &D group had played the game before, while half of them hadn’t, they had agreed to split up so the veteran players could help the newbies individually. Thus, Anzu and Jounouchi sat at one desk, while Yugi and Honda sat at another, near the other side of the room.

“So, how far have you gotten in character creation?” Yuugi asked, pulling the Player’s Handbook out of his backpack.

Honda responded by handing Yuugi a sheet of paper. “Well, I wrote down my stats and my race, but… I haven’t picked a class yet,” he admitted. “Is there a cowboy class?”

Yuugi gave Honda a confused look. “Wh-”

_“Cow… boy? Like, half boy, half cow? Wouldn’t that be a race, not a class?”_ Atem pointed out, frowning slightly.

All attempts to pretend he wasn’t hearing ghosts went out the window as Yuugi instantly burst out laughing. The mental image of a human-cow hybrid, running around with medieval armor and a sword, was just too much for Yuugi; Every time he thought he was over it, the image popped back into his mind for a fresh round of giggles, to the confusion of both his friends.

“Hey! What’s so funny?!”

_“What are you laughing about? I mean, it would be, right?”_

“Look, it’s not _my_ fault I don’t know how to play this game-”

_“It’s only logical. If half-elf is a race, then half-cow should also-”_

“Nothing, nothing, sorry,” Yuugi insisted, shaking his head as he tried to stop laughing long enough to catch his breath. “It’s nothing, I just- N-Nevermind.”

After finally calming down somewhat, Yuugi took a deep breath, wiped his eyes, and put on a straight face to get back on topic. “Sorry. No, there isn’t- isn’t such a race as… C-Cowboy,” he managed to stammer out between the looming threat of laughter.

“No, I said _class,_ not race. Obviously there wouldn’t be a cowboy race, it’s not like cowboys are their own species,” Honda clarified with a hint of sarcasm.

...This was the worst follow-up he possibly could have made.

_“Whatever his problem is, it’s your fault, you know,”_ Atem informed an oblivious Honda as the two of them watched Yuugi practically sob into his desk, so overwhelmed with laughter he couldn’t even sit up. It took almost a solid minute before Yuugi finally regained his composure, sitting up with a deep sigh, cheeks sore from laughing so hard.

“Uh… You ok there, buddy?” Honda asked awkwardly; Uncertain as to what, precisely, had been so obscenely funny, a part of him couldn’t help but worry that his dear anxiety-prone friend had finally snapped.

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry about that,” Yuugi assured him. “Anyway… No, there isn’t a cowboy race- Class, I mean! Class,” he corrected himself once again.

Honda frowned in disappointment. “Aw man… In that case, what class would be best for a cowboy?” he asked instead.

“There… Aren’t really cowboys in D&D, Honda-kun,” Yuugi said slowly.

“Why not?! That’s unfair. I want my character to be a cowboy!”

“It’s based on medieval Europe. They didn’t _have_ cowboys back then,” Yuugi explained, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah, but they _totally_ had elves, right?” Honda retorted sarcastically.

Yuugi faltered slightly. “W-Well no, but… Cowboys don’t… I mean, it’s more about the mood of it, right? Like, you don’t see cowboys in Lord of the Rings, or Zelda,” he pointed out.

“Well that’s their problem, not mine. Come on, Yuugi… I wanna be a cowboy,” Honda whined. “What’s the point in playing a fantasy game if you can’t make your character how you want?”

“Honda-kun, I really don’t think a cowboy is going to fit in with the rest of the party.”

“So what? Please, Yuugi?”

Yuugi took a moment to think, looking at the expression on Honda’s face, halfway between pleading and annoyed. Finally, Yuugi gave an exasperated sigh.

“Fine, I _guess_ you can be a cowboy if you really want to,” he reluctantly gave in. “I would recommend a fighter, or-” he glanced briefly at Honda’s character sheet. “Oh, looks like you don’t have the stats for a ranger, nevermind. So yeah, I’d say be a fighter,” he confirmed, turning the book around to face Honda.

Honda grinned. “Great! Thanks, Yuugi!” he exclaimed, as he began reading through the book, continuing the process of building his character.

Yuugi waited quietly for a while as Honda worked, occasionally answering brief questions, but mostly taking the time to let his thoughts wander; He had a few ideas for the campaign that he still wasn’t certain on, and debated the pros and cons of each one in his head, mentally taking note of what things he’d need to explore further using various books when he got home. Atem, too, watched quietly, sitting on the floor with his hands and chin resting on the desk, idly glancing at the book’s illustrations and listening to Honda mumble to himself.

After a while, Honda sighed and looked up. “Hey, Yuugi. I’m not seeing any guns in here other than the arquebus,” he said questioningly, frowning in confusion at Yuugi.

“That’s because there aren’t any,” Yuugi replied. “Like I said, D&D is based off medieval Europe, right? So there aren’t any guns. That’s why it’s _Dungeons and Dragons_ and not _Axis and Allies,_ although that’s a good game too, but… Ah, I’m just getting off topic now,” he admitted with a laugh.

_“What’s Axis and Allies? Can we play that one too?”_

“Ughhhh, that’s so uncool,” Honda whined. “Are you _sure_ there’s no guns? Can’t I just have one anyway?”

“That’s… Not really how it works,” Yuugi replied awkwardly.

“But how am I supposed to play a cowboy without guns?! Come on, Yuugi, you have to figure something out,” Honda insisted.

Yuugi sighed. “Alright, I… guess you can use bow or crossbow stats, and say it’s a gun,” he decided.

“Cool, thanks,” Honda said hastily, almost before Yuugi had finished talking.

Yuugi sighed in exasperation once again as he was watched Honda scribble down more character notes… But he couldn’t help but smile a little bit when he saw the enthusiasm on Honda’s face.

Sure, maybe their campaign was going to be a little bit… Non-traditional, to put it gently… But really, Yuugi himself wasn’t exactly the epitome of social norms (and Atem most certainly wasn’t even close), so when had he been anything _but_ non-traditional? Creative freedom was part of the appeal of Dungeons and Dragons, after all; As long as his friends were having fun, what did it matter if he had to bend a few rules?

* * *

_“So, I see you decided to let Honda-kun have a gun.”_

Yuugi groaned as he walked down the familiar path from school to home. “For the last time, no, you may _not_ have a khopesh,” he said firmly.

_“But you let him have a gun! And I don’t even get what guns have to do with cow-men,”_ Atem complained.

“You let Honda have a gun?” Anzu questioned somewhat sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Yuugi.

“It’s... a long story,” Yuugi told Anzu. “Anyway, the thing about that is that it’s a gun in name only- He’s still using stats for weapons that fighters can normally have. Whereas part of the reason wizards can’t use most weapons is to limit their power, since they get spells and most other classes don’t,” he explained.

_“Yeah, okay, but- But just hear me out on this one, just hear me out,”_ Atem pleaded, with a bright-eyed look on his face that clearly said he’d been thinking a lot, and probably about something ridiculous.

Yuugi sighed. “Alright, fine. What is it?”

_“So, if I recall correctly… Wizards are allowed to use weapons that are either very simple,_ **_or_ ** _useful to their research, yes?”_ he began.

“Mhmm.”

_“Well… If a wizard isn’t trained in some form of martial arts, what’s to stop someone from simply killing them, taking their research, and using it for evil against their wishes?”_

“Probably Magic Missile,” Yuugi replied flatly.

_“But what if they use their only spell slot, and there are multiple opponents? Or what if their magic isn’t strong enough, or-”_

(Yuugi sighed deeply once again, and put a hand on his face in exasperation; Anzu, meanwhile, didn’t even bother hiding the amusement on her face, finding the whole debate highly amusing to listen in on.)

_“-Or what if they’re somehow prevented from using magic? You can’t rely purely on magic without some sort of backup plan. Especially against someone who is deliberately going after a wizard, as they almost certainly would have prepared countermeasures in anticipation of that exact scenario.”_

“He’s got a point,” Anzu interjected.

Atem nodded appreciatively towards Anzu as he continued. _“Therefore, some sort of melee weapon- such as a khopesh-_ **_would_ ** _be useful to a wizard’s research, as a precautionary measure to ensure their own safety and that of their research.”_ He finished with a decisive, satisfied nod, like a student who was confident they’d just won their debate team the championship.

Yuugi went quiet for an unusually long amount of time.

“...Yeah, that’s a solid argument,” he decided calmly after a few minutes, shrugging. “Okay, you can have a khopesh.”

Atem beamed. _“Yay! Thanks, Yuugi, you’re the best!”_ he exclaimed, waving his arm vaguely in Yuugi’s general direction, in what Yuugi assumed was an attempt to pat him on the shoulder.

“More like a pushover, really, but thanks,” Yuugi muttered. (He shivered slightly, feeling as if a cold breeze had just blown across his arm.)

Meanwhile, Anzu watched the two boys fondly, finding the whole thing both amusing and surprisingly endearing.

It was strange, really… Just a few days ago, she would have found the concept of her best friend being haunted by the vengeful ghost of a dead pharaoh to be impossible at best, terrifying and awful at worst, yet she’d quickly gotten used to it- In fact, despite their rocky start, it hadn’t taken long at all for her to start regarding Atem as a friend. She also noted how comfortable Yuugi seemed to be around him; Even when Atem was being obnoxious and tiresome, the two of them seemed to bicker almost like siblings, with Yuugi clearly feeling no need to fear Atem’s potential ghostly wrath. It was… Kind of sweet, if Anzu was being honest.

Yuugi’s weird life had begun to spread, and somehow, it couldn’t have been better.

“Why do you want a khopesh so badly, anyway, Pharaoh?” Anzu wondered.

_“I just think they’re fun,”_ Atem answered. _“I can’t imagine why everyone stopped using them, they seem so cool. They’re so… curvy and weird. I like them,”_ he said with a nod of approval.

“What about you, Anzu? I don’t suppose you have any special requests?” Yuugi asked sarcastically.

Anzu gave a cheeky grin. “Well, since you’re offering- Nah, I’ll take pity on the poor DM,” she teased with a laugh. “To be honest, I haven’t actually made my character yet.”

Yuugi looked slightly surprised. “Oh, really? Did you have anything in mind?”

“Not yet,” Anzu admitted, shaking her head. “All I know is that I don’t want to play another cleric, that’s for sure. But I haven’t really thought about my character yet.”

“Well, you’d better hurry up, you’ve only got a day to do it,” Yuugi reminded her, looking slightly surprised.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll do it when I get home, I promise,” she assured him.

_“Only one more day, huh…”_ Atem muttered as the three of them walked, looking thoughtful. _“I… Hope the game will go well,”_ he said tentatively.

Anzu gave him a sympathetic look. “Are you worried about how Jounouchi and Honda will react?” she guessed.

_“A little bit,”_ Atem replied, with a small nod.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure they’ll love you,” Yuugi assured him quickly. Atem, however, only frowned more.

_“It’s not so much that I’m worried they won’t like me, really. I just… wouldn’t want to interfere with your friendships at all, or ruin the game,”_ he admitted. _“If they do react badly… I don’t want to risk them deciding not to be friends with you anymore, just because of me.”_ He bit his lip, and sighed, staring forlornly at the ground in front of him. _“Maybe… Maybe I’d better not play, after all. Maybe this was just a stupid idea from the beginning,”_ he muttered bitterly.

Yuugi gasped in shock, looking sad, almost hurt. “Atem…”

“Hey, cheer up, you two,” Anzu interrupted, knowing she had to stop the pessimism train before it got too far (strange though it was, given that last time, she’d been on the other side of the debate). “Jounouchi and Honda have thicker skins than that, I’m sure. It’ll be fine. And besides… Even if things do go wrong, you’ll always have me, alright?” she promised gently.

Atem smiled, just a little. _“Thank you, Anzu. You’re a good friend.”_

“Y-Yeah, thanks... I appreciate that a lot,” Yuugi agreed with a nervous smile and a slight blush, looking a little shy. “Although… I think you’re right, I think it’ll probably go fine. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t,” he added.

_“Hmm… Well, I trust your judgement,”_ Atem conceded. _“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough, anyway.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes for this chapter:
> 
> 1\. In case you were unsure, Pot of Greed allows you to draw two more cards from your deck and add them to your hand. It also has the properties of both rubber and glue.
> 
> 2\. Those of you who play D&D may be more familiar with newer editions (5th and 3.5 being the most popular these days, I think), but 2e (the one that was most current in 1996) was different in a lot of ways. For example, as mentioned, races and classes had certain stat requirements- You determined your stats first, and then chose your race and class based on what you could get. If you think a minimum 7 constitution for elves is ridiculous, the requirements for being a paladin are fucking insane... I understand now why my mom says she's never played in a party with a paladin, geez.
> 
> 3\. Alright I'm too lazy to pull out any of my actual sword books so I'm just going off WIkipedia here, so don't @ me if I'm wrng, but while the khopesh IS ancient Egyptian in origin, it went out of use about 300 years before Atem's time. He just thinks they're neat.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my friend Kirby for managing to read the entirety of the fic thus far, without ever realizing I'm the one who wrote it, lmao. Hi Kirby!! <3  
> Shoutout also to my old DM, Dan, who used legos instead of maps and figurines. I'll never forget fighting Yoda and War Machine.

Yuugi tapped his foot to an unknown beat as he unfolded the battered old DM screen, pushing his supplies out of the way slightly to position it in the right place on the table. He was practically vibrating, feeling a bit like a wind-up toy car that hadn’t yet been released, full of energy just waiting to fire off.

 _“You know, I can’t tell if you’re nervous or excited,”_ Atem commented, watching as Yuugi dug through a few semi-organized boxes of Legos, pulling out several larger plate-type pieces.

“A little bit of both, I think,” Yuugi replied, arranging the pieces on the table. “I’m really excited, and I can’t wait to start! But I’m also a little nervous, since it’s my first time DMing, after all. There’s a lot to keep track of,” he confessed, with a slight nervous laugh. “I hope I’ll do alright.”

Atem gave a thoughtful hum, and gently pushed an off-kilter Lego piece back into position with a light telekinetic nudge.

“ _You should have more faith in yourself, Yuugi. You have all the right skills, and you’re incredibly knowledgeable about the game,”_ he pointed out. _“I’m sure you’ll do great!”_

Yuugi laughed slightly, blushing at the compliment. “Thanks! I hope you’re right…”

 _“I know I am,”_ Atem insisted with a reassuring smile.

“...Of course, there is one other thing to worry about,” Yuugi added quietly.

Atem’s expression grew more serious. _“You mean introducing me to your friends.”_

Yuugi nodded, adding a few more pieces onto the Lego arrangement. “Yup. Like I said, I’m pretty sure it’ll go fine… But there’s always that slight chance it won’t, you know?” he sighed.

_“Mm.”_

“Ah… Don’t let it bother you too much, though!” Yuugi added hastily. “I tend to worry about everything, even stuff that isn’t worth worrying about, so yeah.”

 _“I’ve noticed,”_ Atem replied flatly. _“You should… Not do that.”_

Yuugi rolled his eyes. “Easier said than done… But whatever. The others will be here soon,” he realized, glancing at the clock.

 _“I’m excited to start the game!”_ Atem said with an enthusiastic smile. _“I hope we do well.”_

“I tried to make the encounters a good starting difficulty, given the size and level of the party… But in the end, it’s all up to the dice,” Yuugi replied, with a slow, wise nod, placing some final touches on the board.

“And the decisions of the players.”

Yuugi glanced up in surprise, and smiled widely. “Oh! Hey, Anzu!”

 _“Hey,”_ Atem added with a casual wave.

Anzu smiled back. “Hi guys! How was your day?” she asked politely as she walked into the kitchen, carrying a tote bag slung over one shoulder.

“Pretty good. The shop was fairly busy today, but I guess that’s a good thing,” Yuugi laughed.

 _“I learned more letters today,”_ Atem added, to answer Anzu’s question.

“Oh yeah? How’s that going?”

 _“Good… I think,”_ Atem replied with a slight frown. _“How are you?”_

“I’m good,” Anzu answered as she set her bag down next to the chair across from Atem, with the heavy _thunk_ of hardcover books. Before sitting down, she peered over the table, taking in the setup curiously. “What’s with the legos?”

“I thought it would be interesting to try using these instead of grid paper,” Yuugi explained. “That way, it’s easy to rearrange, it gives a convenient system of measurement, and everyone can build their own character! If it turns out to be too much of a hassle, though, we can always just do it the traditional way next session,” he added.

“Sounds cool!” Anzu agreed.

Suddenly, all three of the room’s occupants glanced up, hearing footsteps. Seconds later, a familiar face emerged from the doorway.

“Yo!”

“Hi, Jounouchi-kun!” Yuugi greeted him with a wide, enthusiastic smile. “How are you?”

“Hey, Jounouchi!”

Jounouchi waved, and made his way over to the chair next to Anzu. “I’m like, super pumped to start the game!” he exclaimed, a statement supported by his giddy attitude. “I’ve got my character all ready to go- Ooh, what are the legos for?” he wondered excitedly, picking up a few loose pieces.

“I’m using those as our map,” Yuugi answered cheerfully.

“Huh, neat.”

Jounouchi played around with the pieces for a few minutes, sticking them together in various arrangements and un-sticking them again while Yuugi and Anzu set up their things, until he eventually lost interest and turned his attention back to the table.

“So who’s this mysterious fourth player you were talking about the other day?” he asked curiously.

Yuugi, Anzu, and Atem exchanged glances, of the sort made by people trying not to laugh about a shared secret.

“Oh, you’ll see,” Yuugi said simply, with a knowing smile.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow at Yuugi. “That’s, like, kinda ominous… But okay. Oh, hey Honda,” he added, waving towards the doorway.

“Hi, Honda-kun!”

“Hey Honda!”

“Hey guys,” Honda greeted the room with a wave. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Nah, you’re not that late- Oh, don’t sit there,” Yuugi warned him quickly as Honda began to sit down in Atem’s chair, unaware that it was already occupied.

Honda paused, and frowned in confusion. “Huh? Why not?”

 _“Because it’s rude!”_ Atem grumbled, glaring in irritation at Honda and shooing him away. _“I’m sitting here. Go find your own chair.”_

Yuugi gave an apologetic look, first to Atem, then Honda. “Because, um… Uh, it’s- Y-You’ll understand later, just… Go sit over there,” Yuugi stammered, indicating the chair at the other end of the table.

Honda continued to stare at Yuugi suspiciously, but nonetheless complied. “Alright…”

A few more seconds of silence passed after Honda sat down; A combination of no one knowing what to say, and everyone trying to get their supplies in order before the game.

“Hey, didn’t you say there was going to be someone else playing with us?” Honda recalled. “Guess they’re even more late than I was, huh!”

Once again, the three sitting at the close end of the table exchanged glances.

“Think it’s time..?” Anzu said quietly, secretively to Yuugi, nodding towards Atem, whose gaze flickered expectantly from Yuugi to the others and back again.

Yuugi sighed. “Yeah, I guess I don’t have a choice, huh…” he muttered.

 _“I’m ready whenever you are,”_ Atem said calmly.

Yuugi nodded, and looked up, mentally steeling himself for what he was about to say. His heart beat fast in his chest, a thousand “what if” scenarios flickering through his mind; For all of his optimism, and all of his faith in his friends, and despite the fact that he had been the one to suggest the idea in the first place, he still… He couldn’t help but be nervous as to how Jounouchi and Honda would react. What would they think, knowing that he was being haunted by a real ghost? That he had _befriended_ a vengeful ghost? The fear that his friends might reject him suddenly felt like almost too much to bear.

“Yuugi? Are you ok?” Jounouchi asked worriedly. It was only then that Yuugi realized his friends were all staring at him, with concerned expressions on their faces; Evidently, his anxiousness showed.

Yuugi swallowed, and nodded once again, laughing slightly as he tended to do when nervous. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” he promised. “It’s just, um… Well, I… I-I, um, I have something to tell you guys,” he began.

“What is it?” Honda prompted.

...Yuugi took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

“You see, um… The truth is, the uh- Our fourth player is, uh… ...Well, a ghost.”

There was a very brief second of silence as Jounouchi and Honda processed what Yuugi had said, almost as if they thought they’d heard wrong, before it finally sunk in.

“Like, playing a ghost? I didn’t know you could do that in D&D,” Honda said, looking surprised.

Yuugi shook his head. “No, like, he’s literally a ghost. An actual ghost,” he explained.

Jounouchi gave a laugh that sounded almost forced, like he was trying to act casual. “C’mon, Yuugi, don’t say such creepy stuff! What, is it one of your goth friends or something?”

“No, it’s… Oh, just let me show you,” Yuugi decided, giving up on explaining. He carefully removed the Millennium Puzzle from around his neck, and placed it on the table (on top of Atem’s character sheet, for lack of an empty space). “Here, both of you touch the Puzzle,” he instructed them.

Jounouchi and Honda hesitated slightly, looking at each other as if for some sort of confused confirmation or backup, before awkwardly placing their hands on the Millennium Puzzle.

Atem grinned.

Everything seemed to happen all at once: Jounouchi and Honda screamed slightly and jumped in surprise, eyes snapping towards what only seconds ago had appeared to be an empty chair, while Yuugi fidgeted and bounced his leg nervously, Anzu watched with excitement, and Atem straightened up in his chair with a proud smile, trying to make a good first impression.

“Oh my god, you really were being serious,” Honda gasped breathlessly, mouth hanging open in shock as Atem began his introduction.

**_“HELLO, MORTALS. MY NAME IS-”_ **

“Holy shit! Holy fucking shit, that’s a _ghost!”_ Jounouchi shrieked, leaping out of his chair so quickly that it tipped over backwards and hit the counter. “Shit! P-Please don’t eat my soul!” he stammered in fear.

Atem blinked confusedly. _“...Excuse me..?”_

“What the hell...” Honda whispered, looking slightly pale, as Yuugi and Atem exchanged worried glances. “Why is there a _ghost_ in the Millennium Puzzle? How is this-”

“I’m too young to die!”

“Is everything ok in there, kids?”

“Yes, grandpa, we’re fine,” Yuugi shouted back.

Anzu suddenly stood up, growling in irritation and abruptly pushing her chair back, stomping over to Honda and Jounouchi’s end of the table.

“Would… you… two… Get a _grip already?!”_ she snapped, grabbing the two of them roughly by the tops of their heads and pulling them together. “You’re totally freaking out, and you haven’t even given the poor guy a chance to introduce himself! Are you _men,_ or are you babies?!” she demanded. Jounouchi and Honda squirmed and grunted in pain under her iron grip, flailing helplessly.

“M-Men! Men!” they squeaked, tears pricking at the corners of their eyes as their hair remained hopelessly entangled in Anzu’s fingers, threatening to pull them both to the ground.

“Then you should act like it,” she growled.

“Okay, okay! Let go already!” Jounouchi pleaded.

“You’re pulling my hair!”

“Let us go, Anzu!”

Anzu raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to sit quietly and let the Pharaoh talk?” she asked, sounding much more like a threat than a question.

“Y-Yes! Just let us go!”

Anzu waited just a second longer before nodding in satisfaction, releasing her grip on the two boys. Jounouchi and Honda gasped in relief, rubbing at their sore scalps as Anzu returned to her chair.

“Please continue,” Anzu told Atem politely, with a terrifying forced smile on her face.

 **_“She’s_ ** _the one you should really be afraid of,”_ Atem muttered to Honda and Jounouchi, nodding towards Anzu. **_“I MEAN, UH, AS I WAS SAYING… MY NAME IS-”_ ** He paused, noticing Yuugi practically wince in anticipation of his long introduction, and decided to take pity on him. **_“...PHARAOH ATEM._ ** _It’s very nice to officially meet you both.”_

“N-N-Nice to meet you, um, Mr. Ghost Pharaoh Your Majesty Sir,” Jounouchi stammered as he picked up his chair, still significantly... Less than calm.

Honda, on the other hand, still looked slightly stunned, but tried his best to be polite. “Yeah… Uh… Nice to meet you too,” he replied hesitantly, shooting a questioning glance at Yuugi.

“Atem is my _friend,_ and he likes games, so he’s going to play with us,” Yuugi said- Slowly, carefully, in the sort of tone people generally used to explain things to young children.

Jounouchi winced. “Please tell me you’re not talking about some kind of like- Like you know- Some sort of cursed magic evil trickster spirit death games where the whole thing’s rigged and the loser’s soul gets stolen and, I dunno, sent to a dimension of eternal suffering or something,” he rambled nervously.

For a split second, a flicker of interest crossed Atem’s face, as if considering the idea before he quickly thought the better of it. _“No, just normal games,”_ he assured him. _“You know. Senet, twenty square, chess, Duel Monsters…”_

“Wait, Duel Monsters?” Honda questioned, one eyebrow raised.

“I’m teaching him to play,” Yuugi explained as he carefully replaced the Millennium Puzzle, shifting the cord slightly so it hung centered against his chest. “Really, I’m telling you guys, Atem is pretty much just like any other kid! Just… You know… Dead. ...And illiterate. And he thinks papillons are fake-”

“Wait, what?”

“I have so many questions-”

 _“Look, I never said they’re not_ **_real,_ ** _just that they’re not_ **_dogs-”_ **

“-But that’s getting off topic,” Yuugi announced loudly, trying his best to break up the chaos. “We can talk about ghost stuff later. Let’s get the game going, alright?”

With that, he reached into the box next to his chair and took out a plastic sandwich bag full of legos (minifigure pieces, mostly), which he dumped out onto the table at the far end, where there was more empty space.

“Here. You guys can build your characters,” he announced. “Once you’re done, we’ll get started.”

Anzu and Honda wasted no time in enthusiastically rummaging through the pile, searching for suitable pieces for their characters; Atem, unlike the two of them, didn’t touch the pile, but watched closely over Anzu’s shoulder for any pieces that interested him. Jounouchi, on the other hand, seemed surprisingly hesitant, hanging back while watching Atem with a wide-eyed, wary gaze.

“Hey, guys… Maybe we should, uh… Let the Pharaoh here pick first,” he suggested with a tense, nervous smile, elbowing Honda and nodding pointedly towards Atem, with a sense of urgency to his gestures.

Atem blinked in surprise. _“Huh? You can go, it’s fine,”_ he assured Jounouchi. _“It’s not like they belong to me or anything.”_

“Geez, Jounouchi, you’re acting like he’s gonna kill you just for breathing,” Anzu pointed out sarcastically as she placed a hair piece onto her character. “Relax! The Pharaoh’s cool.”

 _“I mean, I_ **_could_ ** _kill you, if I wanted to,”_ Atem said with a casual shrug. _“But I don’t, so there’s no need to worry.”_

“Oh, great. Good to know,” Jounouchi muttered weakly as the color drained from his face.

Yuugi sighed. “Atem, could you _please_ stop giving people death threats?”

 _“I wasn’t threatening him,”_ Atem insisted. _“I just said I_ **_don’t_ ** _want to kill him. That is, in fact, the exact opposite of a death threat.”_

“Asserting your ability to kill someone is generally seen as threatening.”

_“Well, that’s not my fault.”_

Anzu leaned over to Jounouchi and whispered, “It’s ok. He likes to act more scary than he actually is.”

Jounouchi looked uncertain, but nodded, and hesitantly began digging through the legos. After a little more banter, some arguing over lego pieces, and a few minutes of cleanup, the four players finally managed to assemble their character figures, and passed the bag back to Yuugi.

“Alright, now that that’s done, everyone introduce your characters,” Yuugi prompted, placing the bag on the floor. “Anzu, why don’t you start? And then we’ll go around the table.”

Anzu blinked in surprise. “What, me? Oh, um, ok.”

She flipped through her notebook, glancing over her character sheet quickly, and cleared her throat. “I’m playing an elf wizard named Teana,” she announced, holding up the figure. “She inherited her wizard powers from her bloodline, and although she’s still in training, her teacher thought it would be best for her to get some experience adventuring. Um, let’s see… Neutral good, uh... Yeah, that’s about it,” she finished with a shrug.

 _“Wait. You’re playing a wizard?”_ Atem questioned.

“Yeah, wh- Ohhhh, I forgot you’re playing a wizard,” she realized quietly, staring off into the distance with a look of regret.

_“Oh boy.”_

Yuugi grimaced slightly at the thought of two wizards. “Well, this should be… Interesting,” he commented awkwardly. “Anyway… Next up, Jounouchi-kun, please tell us about your character.”

Jounouchi grinned, apparently having recovered from his fear. “Alright! I’m playing a neutral good human fighter, a knight named Sir Joey the Strong. He’s-”

“You named your character after yourself?” Honda interrupted, snorting in amusement.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t. _His_ name is Sir Joey. _My_ name is Katsuya. They’re totally different, moron,” he insisted sarcastically.

“Whatever you say, _Jounouchi,”_ Honda retorted, exaggerating the name.

“Aw, shut up,” Jounouchi shot back, sticking his tongue out at Honda, before looking back at his character sheet. “Anyway, Sir Joey comes from a long line of knights in service of the king. He always wanted to be just like his dad, but sadly, his dad was tragically slain in battle when Sir Joey was only ten years old,” he recounted dramatically. “Yet he died putting an end to a long and terrible war, bringing about an era of peace and prosperity in his kingdom! Sir Joey spent his whole life training hard to achieve his dream of being just like his father, a great and beloved hero who protected the weak, but with the kingdom being in such a good state, Sir Joey eventually realized that his skills and service could be best put to use elsewhere. And so, with the king’s permission, he said a tearful goodbye to his mom and siblings, and set out to become a traveling knight-for-hire, wandering the lands in search of the call of justice.” Jounouchi finished with a proud nod, placing the lego figure on the board.

There was a long, silent pause.

Honda began awkwardly clapping in applause, not sure what else to do.

“Wow, you sure put a lot of thought into your backstory,” Yuugi said after a moment, genuinely impressed. “That’s great! But, just for the record… In the future, I’d recommend not thinking too much about your backstory until later, since you’re better off not getting too attached to brand new characters,” he suggested gently.

Anzu nodded in agreement. “Some people don’t even name their characters until second level, because at level one there’s such a high likelihood of them dying.”

Atem scoffed. _“That’s stupid. I mean, I’m dead, and I have a name,”_ he pointed out.

“Yes, it’s a very nice name,” Yuugi agreed.

_“Thank you.”_

“Hey, can I introduce my character now?” Honda interrupted somewhat hesitantly, raising his hand.

“Sure, go ahead,” Yuugi replied with a nod.

“Great. So…” Honda held up his character figure, adorned with a tiny plastic hat. “My character’s a human fighter, name’s Tristan Taylor.”

 _“I thought you said your character was a cowboy?”_ Atem recalled confusedly.

“He is- Wait, how do you know?!” Honda wondered in surprise.

 _“I was there when you made the character, you just couldn’t see me,”_ Atem explained somewhat hastily, waving his hand in dismissal; The question wasn’t important. _“Anyway, you just said he’s a human.”_

“He is,” Honda confirmed.

Atem stared silently down at the table.

 _“I’m so confused,”_ he whispered.

“Anyway, so. Tristan Taylor. Cowboy outlaw, chaotic neutral-”

“Oh boy,” Anzu muttered.

“Best shot in the West. His skills earned him a lot of enemies, so he left home and started wandering in search of treasure,” he finished. “So yeah, that’s my character.” He shrugged.

“Man, what the hell kind of cowboy name is ‘Tristan Taylor’? That’s dumb,” Jounouchi laughed.

“And what exactly is wrong with it?! It’s a perfectly good cowboy name!” Honda insisted, recoiling defensively and looking offended.

Jounouchi laughed and shook his head. “Nah, bro, listen. Trust me, I know about this sort of thing ‘cause I got relatives in Brooklyn-”

“Oh yeah, since when?!”

“Uh, since always?” Jounouchi replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you think my hair is this color, dude?”

“I always just assumed you bleach it,” Yuugi confessed.

Jounouchi gave an amused snort. “Like I have time or money for that shit. I’m just naturally beautiful. Anyway, listen... Cowboy names always have to have ‘Mc’ in them,” he explained, crossing his arms and nodding confidently, a slight smirk on his face. “Like, duh. _Everyone_ knows that.”

Yuugi and Anzu both frowned in confusion while Honda pondered this.

“...Jounouchi-kun, with all due respect to your family in New York, I don’t think I can think of a single cowboy who-”

“So, like… Tristan _Mc_ Taylor?” Honda tried hesitantly, looking to Jounouchi for approval.

Jounouchi grinned widely and gave Honda a thumbs up. “There ya go! Now _that’s_ a cowboy name!”

 _“I still don’t understand what any of you are talking about,”_ Atem said quietly.

“Well, anyway… You’re up, Atem,” Yuugi announced.

Atem blinked in surprise. _“Oh, uh, right… Yes. Um, my character is named Tutankhensetamun. Half-elf wizard, true neutral- I think..? I can’t read this...”_ he muttered, glancing down at his character sheet and frowning in confusion. _“Anyway, Tutankhensetamun is a deposed prince on a quest to save his kingdom.”_

At first, the others expected him to continue, but realized that was all when he leaned back against his chair, saying no more.

“What is he saving his kingdom from, exactly?” Yuugi prompted.

Atem opened his mouth to answer, and then paused. _“Um.”_ He stared blankly ahead for a moment, as if confused. “ _...Elves,”_ he decided, nodding with a calm smile.

Yuugi stared at Atem.

“...Elves,” he repeated.

_“Yes. Elves.”_

“Atem… _You’re_ half elf,” Yuugi pointed out slowly.

Atem’s smile wavered slightly as he glanced uncertainly around the room, suddenly making it rather clear that he had not actually thought about his character’s backstory at all prior to that moment. _“Yes… Um… It was an insurrection, you see. By, uh… His uncle. Yes.”_

“Like the Lion King?” Honda interjected.

“And how exactly is going dungeoning going to help save his kingdom?” Yuugi questioned further.

 _“W-Well, because he’ll get stronger, you see. Or maybe find a useful item,”_ Atem answered.

Yuugi tilted his head thoughtfully. “Hmm, fair enough.”

“Hey, Pharaoh… Was this character, by any chance… Based on you?” Anzu asked suspiciously, though she kept her tone polite and careful.

_“No, why?”_

“Oh, no reason… Geez, I can’t believe we seriously have two wizards and two fighters,” Anzu sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

“Is that bad?” Honda asked. “I mean, I know it’d be better if we had a cleric, but… Is two fighters and two wizards really _that_ bad?” he wondered, looking questioningly at the others.

Atem frowned. _“From what I understand, it’s-”_

“Completely terrible,” Anzu interrupted flatly.

_“...Yes. That.”_

Yuugi took a breath that was somewhere between a sigh, and an awkward hiss. “Yeeeeah, uh… I promise I’ll try my best not to kill you all from the get-go, but… No guarantees,” he told the group. “In fact I would recommend rolling some backup characters when you get the chance, because to be totally honest, you’re probably going to die,” he admitted.

“Well, we’ll try our best,” Anzu decided, trying to force herself to be optimistic.

“I believe in us! My dice won’t fail me!” Jounouchi declared with a decisive nod. “We just gotta believe in the heart of the dice!”

“Believe in the whatnow?” Honda repeated, raising an eyebrow.

 _“I agree with Jounouchi-kun,”_ Atem announced. _“As long as we have faith in ourselves, and make careful decisions, I’m sure we’ll do just fine!”_

* * *

“I’m going to hit on the bartender.”

A chorus of groans echoed through the room.

“Really? _That’s_ the first thing you’re going to do?” Anzu said sarcastically.

“Of course! You never know, maybe we’ll get a discount or something!” Honda insisted.

Yuugi sighed. “Alright, but… First of all, the term would be innkeeper, Not bartender, and just so you know, the innkeeper is a guy,” he clarified.

“Ew, in that case nevermind.”

“Can _I_ hit on the innkeeper?” Jounouchi interrupted with a grin.

“In your case, I feel like it’s less of a question of _can_ you and more _should_ you,” Yuugi told him.

Jounouchi frowned disappointedly. “Alright, fine. I guess I’ll just sit and drink,” he decided.

Yuugi nodded. “Anzu? Atem? What about you two?” he prompted.

 _“I would like to try to listen in on nearby conversations,”_ Atem replied.

“I’m going to introduce myself to the innkeeper,” Anzu decided. “I’ll explain my mission, and ask if he knows of any… Um… You know, any quests or whatever.”

“Alright, in that case… You talk to the innkeeper, and he says: ‘Actually, there have been some strange goings-on lately. There have been some unexplained disappearances, and a few people claim to have seen someone coming and going around old Castle Zorc.’”

Jounouchi raised his hand enthusiastically. “Oh, oh! What’s Castle Zorc?!”

“‘Castle Zorc is the name of the old ruins near the outskirts of town. Legend has it that a group of adventures defeated a demon named Zorc there many years ago. Dunno if it’s true or not, but a lot of more superstitious folk tend to avoid the ruins,’” Yuugi- or the “innkeeper”- answered.

“‘Does anyone know what happened to the people who disappeared?’” Jounouchi asked; He’d already become absorbed in the game, focused on the board, easily slipping into character with a serious expression.

Yuugi shook his head. “‘No. Everyone’s worried, but nobody knows where they went or why.’”

“‘I’m willing to bet the disappearances and the person sneaking around the castle are connected,’” Jounouchi decides.

 _“May I ask a question?”_ Atem interrupted politely.

“Of course, go ahead,” Yuugi confirmed.

Atem nodded, and nudged his character figure towards the others, taking a second to think carefully about what he was going to say. _“Um… ‘You said those who are superstitious usually avoid the ruins, but is there anyone who ever does visit them?’”_

“‘Once in a while, sure. Kids like to go there sometimes, either just to play or as a test of courage type of thing… But there’s really nothing useful up there, and it’s easy to get lost, so other than that nobody really bothers.’”

_“‘Alright, thank you.’”_

With that, Yuugi glanced at Honda. “Honda-kun, you’ve been pretty quiet this whole time. Does your character have anything to say, or..?”

Honda faltered for a second, not having expected to be put on the spot. “U-Uhhhh, yeah, um… Well Tristan’s just kinda sitting there drinking his beer, you know, and um… He’s thinking that the castle sounds like it might have some treasure in it.”

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “I mean, the innkeeper just said there’s nothing up there, but-”

“How do we know there isn’t, though?” Honda retorted. “I mean, maybe there is, and he just doesn’t know about it. Or maybe he’s lying to us,” he suggested. “I don’t see any reason to just blindly trust this guy.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Yuugi agreed with a nod. “Anyone else have anything to add, or should we move on?”

The table went quiet for a moment, thinking things over. After a few minutes, Atem spoke up.

 _“I don’t think the innkeeper is necessarily lying, but I do think we might be jumping to conclusions a little quickly. He said kids sometimes play around the castle, so it’s perfectly possible that whoever people have been seeing there is just a normal person,”_ Atem pointed out. _“I think we should try to gather more information about the disappearances before we make any assumptions.”_

“Yeah, I’m with the Pharaoh on this one,” Anzu agreed. “If we’re going to rescue the missing villagers, we should make sure we really know what we’re doing, instead of wasting time investigating what might be a dead end.”

“Technically, you don’t _have_ to investigate the disappearances at all,” Yuugi pointed out. “What you guys do is up to you. You could, technically, ignore the mystery and just go right to the castle.”

Jounouchi suddenly slammed his hand down on the table. “Absolutely not! Being a knight means helping people, damn it!” he exclaimed. “We’re gonna find those missing people, or we’re not adventurers!”

“Speak for yourself, I’m only here for the treasure- And I think the castle is our best bet as far as that goes,” Honda insisted.

Anzu rolled her eyes. “Look, why don’t we just start by finding out what we can, and then decides what we’re going to do, alright?”

The others voiced murmurs of agreement, and then Anzu turned towards Yuugi.

“What do we know about the town?”

“Um… What’s your intelligence, Anzu?” Yuugi questioned.

Anzu glanced down at her character sheet before answering. “14.”

“Atem, you wouldn’t happen to have a higher score, would you?” Yuugi continued.

 _“Uh…”_ Atem frowned confusedly at his sheet. _“Which one is intelligence, again?”_

“Fourth from the top.”

Atem nodded in acknowledgment, and continued to frown with a furrowed brow, concentrating as he tried to decipher the symbols on his character sheet. _“I think… I have a 14 also,”_ he answered confusedly after a few seconds.

“Alright, in that case… You know that this is a medium-sized farming town,” Yuugi revealed. “To the east and south is farmland. To the west is forest, as well as a graveyard. To the north is Castle Zorc, and beyond that, mountains and more forest.”

The others exchanged glances, thinking carefully about their options.

“I’m going to ask the innkeeper if he can tell us anything about the people who disappeared,” Jounouchi announced. “Like, what kind of people are they, what were they last seen doing, stuff like that.”

Yuugi glanced at his notes, and began his answer. “‘Well, for the most part, they seem to be…’”

* * *

“Tristan’s bullet rips through the spider, and… It gives an unsettling screech, and curls up dead,” Yuugi described dramatically.

The group broke out into cheers as Yuugi stood up and reached over the DM screen, flipping the small plastic spider onto its back with one finger.

“Great job, everyone!” Anzu said proudly.

Jounouchi gave a victorious fist pump. “Yeah, nobody died!” he cheered.

 _“Well, except for the spiders,”_ Atem added with a small smile.

Yuugi laughed. “Well, on that note, you’re free to investigate the room. After that we should probably wrap up this session,” he informed the group.

The four players all unspokenly leaned in towards the table, examining the lego setup in the middle.

“Hmm…” Anzu squinted in thought, and pointed to a block towards one end of the room. “That thing- Can I tell what it is from here?” she asked.

“Um… What’s your wisdom, again?”

“16.”

Yuugi nodded, and rolled a die behind the screen, glancing at the result before answering. “You can tell that it’s an altar, with Draconic inscriptions on it. It looks like it’s probably made of obsidian.”

“Oh shit,” Jounouchi exclaimed with a quiet gasp.

“Creepy,” Honda agreed.

Anzu frowned worriedly. “Can we tell if it’s booby trapped?”

“You can’t tell without getting closer.”

The players exchanged concerned glances.

“I know: why don’t we all stand back, and have Sir Joey poke it with his halberd?” Honda suggested.

Jounouchi shot Honda an annoyed look. “Don’t try to sacrifice me, you-”

_“That does seem like the safest course of action.”_

“O-Oh, well if you think so, Pharaoh!” Jounouchi corrected himself hastily, voice cracking slightly as he gave a nervous smile.

He rearranged the lego figures, moving the majority of the party to the far end of the “room”; He then picked up his own figure, replaced the tiny plastic sword with a spear, and put the figure back down, positioning it so the tip of the spear touched the “altar”.

“...Nothing happens!” Yuugi announced cheerfully. The others let out sighs of relief.

“Alright, I’m gonna go investigate the altar,” Anzu decided, moving her character figure closer to the altar.

 _“I’ll join you,”_ Atem added as his figure seemed to move on its own.

Yuugi rolled a die behind the DM screen.

“You guys find an athame, some bones, a very old and worn obsidian figurine, and a scroll,” he informed them.

“Bones?!” Jounouchi gasped. “Geez, that’s creepy!”

 _“Can we tell what the bones are from?”_ Atem asked.

Yuugi rolled another die before answering, “No.”

 _“Hmm… Alright then, I guess let’s see about the scroll,”_ Atem suggested.

“Ok. You unroll the scroll, and… Unfortunately, it seems to be written in Draconic-”

“I have Comprehend Languages!” Anzu blurted out, hand shooting up.

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “Do you have it memorized?”

“I haven’t memorized any spells yet today. And memorizing spells only takes about ten minutes, so I could do it now,” Anzu replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

 _“Oh, smart planning, Anzu!”_ Atem complimented her.

Anzu smiled. “Thank you. I’ve played this game before.”

“While she’s casting the spell, can we check out the rest of the room?” Jounouchi asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” Yuugi confirmed, nodding.

“Alright, then I’m gonna check for hidden doors.”

“What’s your intelligence?”

“Uh…” Jounouchi checked his character sheet. “Oh, it’s… it’s 9,” he admitted sheepishly.

Yuugi gave an amused snort, and rolled a die. “Yeeeeeah, uh, Sir Joey will be lucky if he can identify a window right now,” he informed Jounouchi.

Jounouchi sighed. “Oh well. It was worth a shot, I guess,” he muttered.

“Elves and half-elves get a bonus to searching for hidden doors, so I would suggest letting Tu… Tuten… …I’m sorry, _what_ exactly is your character name again?” Yuugi asked, turning towards Atem with a confused frown.

 _“Tutankhensetamun,”_ Atem answered easily, without a moment’s hesitation or difficulty.

“That’s too damn long!” Honda complained.

 _“No it’s not,”_ Atem insisted.

“Yeah it is! How is anyone supposed to remember that?!”

_“Tut-ankh-en-set-Amun. It’s not complicated, Honda-kun.”_

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Honda! Don’t argue with the ghost! Do you _want_ him to eat your soul?!” Jounouchi hissed, elbowing Honda and shaking his head urgently.

“No, I want him to pick a different name,” Honda replied simply.

“It… really is kinda long,” Anzu admitted. (Yuugi awkwardly nodded in agreement, giving Atem a sympathetic, apologetic look.)

Atem rolled his eyes. _“Ugh, fine, whatever. Then I’ll change his name to… Atenolol,”_ he decided.

“That’s just your own name with-”

“That’s a great name, Atem,” Yuugi interrupted before the argument could keep going. “So would _Atenolol_ like to check for hidden doors?” he continued, emphasizing the name.

_“Certainly.”_

After making a few more rolls, Yuugi announced, “You can tell that there aren’t any hidden doors in this room.”

“Is there anything else in this room?” Honda asked.

“Eh, other than the dead spiders… Not really,” Yuugi replied. “Now then, let’s see about-”

“Wait. What about the figurine?” Jounouchi interrupted. “Do we know what that is?”

“Oh, right. Uh…” Yuugi made a quick roll and glanced down at his notes. “Nope.”

“Damn.”

Yuugi shrugged apologetically. “Anyway, let’s see what Teana’s learned about the scroll.”

Everyone waited with bated breath (or lack of breath, in Atem’s case), watching expectantly as Yuugi rolled the dice.

“Alright… You can’t fully understand the meaning of the text, but it’s definitely a necromancer spell, and seems to be some sort of summoning ritual,” he described, with a hint of an excited smile. “It’s far too advanced for Teana to understand, but from what little you can make out, that’s your best guess.”

A chorus of gasps went around the table.

“A _necromancy_ spell?!”

“Yeah, let’s fight some zombies!”

 _“Oh, this will be_ **_very_ ** _fun,”_ Atem added, with a slightly unsettling grin that seemed halfway between gleeful and sadistic.

Yuugi laughed, and stood up, carrying an empty chip bowl over to the sink. “Well, that’s for next time. For now, let’s call it a night, ok?” he said as he rinsed the bowl.

The others relaxed somewhat as the session officially ended; Stretching out, yawning, putting dice away, finishing up snacks, and doing other such things they had previously been too focused on the game to do. It was like waking up from a trance, or finishing a long movie.

“Thanks for DMing, Yuugi! That was a lot of fun,” Anzu said cheerfully.

“Yeah, this game is like, super cool!” Jounouchi agreed. “I’m so glad I finally got to try it!”

Yuugi smiled widely. “I’m glad you guys had fun! Does the same time next week work for everyone?” he asked.

“Sure, I’m cool with that.”

“Works for me!”

“I think it should be, yeah.”

“Good,” Yuugi said as he sat back down. “You guys did pretty good for your first session!” he commented.

“Yeah, considering our team comp and the number of new people, I thought we were totally screwed,” Anzu admitted with a laugh. “I’m glad nobody died! Now we just gotta keep it up.”

 _“I can’t wait until we level up, and then I can finally do something other than cast a single Magic Missile and become useless for the rest of the day,”_ Atem muttered.

“And that’s why I didn’t memorize any spells at the start of the day,” Anzu told him, nodding sagely. “That way, I can use whatever we need the most. Of course, it does help that we have two wizards… I’m not sure I’d try this strategy if I were the only one,” she admitted.

 _“Well, it seemed to work out well in this case,”_ Atem replied. _“If you’d like, we can switch next time.”_

Anzu nodded. “Sure!”

Meanwhile, Jounouchi and Honda remained fairly quiet- particularly Honda, who sat with his arm propped up against the back of his chair, leaning his head against his hand and watching Atem closely with a thoughtful, intrigued-yet-confused expression.

“So, explain to me this whole ghost thing,” he requested after a few minutes. “Like, what the hell is an ancient Egyptian ghost doing in Yuugi’s house?”

Everyone sat up a bit straighter as the topic they’d all but forgotten about was once again brought to light. Yuugi fidgeted nervously, and Jounouchi glanced from Honda to Atem with wide eyes.

 _“...W-Well, you see, I was sort of… Rudely awakened, you could say, because the Millennium Puzzle was stolen from my tomb,”_ Atem began. _“And one way or another, it wound up with Yuugi. So here I am.”_

Yuugi nodded. “Right. The truth is… The reason I started working at my grandpa’s shop is so I can save up money to go to Egypt, and return the Puzzle to Atem’s tomb so he can go back to the afterlife,” he explained. “Not really sure how the hell I’ll manage to pull that off, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” he muttered under his breath.

“S-So, um… Does that mean you’re gonna, like… Put a curse on everybody? Or Yuugi, anyway?” Jounouchi wondered, face pale, looking as if he was afraid to even ask.

Atem shook his head. _“Nah. I mean, I could, but that would be terribly cruel and unfair. I don’t know who stole the Puzzle, but it wasn’t Yuugi, and it wouldn’t be right for me to punish innocent people,”_ he said sincerely. _“As much as I don’t want to be here, I do understand that Yuugi cannot simply teleport to Egypt. So rest assured that while I’m here, I don’t intend to hurt him, or anyone else who hasn’t done anything wrong,”_ he promised.

“Huh. Well, sorry about your Puzzle, I guess,” Honda replied.

Jounouchi gave Honda a surprised look. “Man, how can you be so casual about this?! You’re talking to a _ghost,_ bro!” he exclaimed.

“Eh, I’ll admit I was kinda freaked out at first, but... I try not to judge people, you know?” Honda answered. “I mean, some people are goth, some people are gay, some people are dead… It’s none of my business, really,” he said, shrugging. “If Yuugi and Anzu are ok with it, then so am I. And besides, isn’t it really cool that we get to play D&D with a ghost?” he pointed out excitedly.

“That’s what I said!” Yuugi exclaimed.

Atem laughed. _“Thank you, Honda-kun. I’m glad you think so.”_

Jounouchi regarded Atem with suspicion, as if debating whether or not to trust him, but relaxed slightly. “I… I guess you have a point,” he admitted reluctantly.

“Hey, Pharaoh, there’s something I’ve been wondering about,” Anzu suddenly remembered. “What exactly _is_ the Millennium Puzzle, anyway? I mean, it’s obviously kind of a big deal, but why?” she asked.

Jounouchi gasped. “Let me guess, it’s some sort of powerful mystical artifact forged in blood sacrifice that grants the chosen one unstoppable power and can drive people insane-”

 _“What? No. Where did you get that idea?”_ Atem wondered, frowning in bafflement at Jounouchi. _“It is magic, yes. But I am quite certain there was no human sacrifice involved, and I… wouldn’t even call it especially powerful or useful, to be honest,”_ he admitted.

“Then what’s it for?”

 _“It’s a toy,”_ Atem answered simply, with a slight smile.

Whatever answer the others had been expecting, that was evidently not it, as was clearly shown by their shocked gasps and confused faces.

“What do you mean, it’s a _toy?!”_ Anzu exclaimed.

 _“I mean it’s a toy,”_ Atem repeated, shrugging. _“I’ve always loved games and puzzles, ever since I was very young, but I got too good at them and started getting bored. The Millennium Puzzle was a gift given to me when I was a child- My grandfather designed and commissioned it, and my teacher Mahaad enchanted it,”_ he recalled. _“It’s enchanted to be extremely difficult to solve, and different every time; Sometimes it even changes as you’re working on it, so just when you think you’ve figured out where one piece goes, suddenly it doesn’t. Most people wouldn’t be able to solve it at all. That’s why it’s called the Millennium Puzzle, because it feels like it takes a millennium to solve,”_ he explained.

Yuugi gasped. “I always _thought_ it was changing on its own! So I wasn’t imagining things after all!” he blurted out.

Atem smiled knowingly. _“Did you have fun with it, Yuugi?”_

“I did, actually!” Yuugi replied with an excited nod.

“Huh… That’s… Actually pretty interesting,” Anzu admitted. “No wonder you like it so much.”

Atem glanced at the Puzzle that hung against Yuugi’s chest, staring with a wistful, fond expression on his face. _“Yes. It’s very precious to me,”_ he said softly. _“Can’t imagine it being of much value to anyone else, though... I mean, I suppose it is made of solid gold, but it’s functionally pretty useless,”_ he added with a confused frown.

“An impossible-to-solve puzzle, huh..? We have those too,” Jounouchi said as he absentmindedly stacked up some legos.

 _“Really?”_ Atem asked, looking surprised.

Jounouchi nodded. “Yep, they’re called Rubik’s cubes. Pretty sure they were invented by the devil.”

“My record for solving one is seven seconds!” Yuugi chimed in innocently.

...There was a brief silence.

Jounouchi put a hand on Yuugi’s shoulder.

“Yuugi, as your friend, and a bona fide good-for-nothing problem child delinquent, I’m going to give you a word of advice: Don’t say stuff like that with that kind of casual tone unless you want to be shoved into a locker,” he told him.

 _“Don’t worry- If anyone tried to do that, I would kill them,”_ Atem said with a determined nod.

Yuugi made a sort of unimpressed expression, and resisted the urge to sigh. “...Yeah, uh, thanks guys. Really appreciate it,” he mumbled flatly, with a slow, almost sarcastic nod.

After that rather awkward exchanged, Honda stood up, stretching out with a yawn. “Well, this has been fun, and… uh… Interesting…” he added with a glance at Atem, “...But I should probably start heading home now,” he finished.

“Yeah, me too,” Jounouchi agreed. “Thanks for running this, Yuugi!”

“No problem! I’m glad everyone had fun,” Yuugi replied with a wide smile, as Jounouchi and Honda began gathering their things. “Thanks for playing!”

“See ya Yuugi, Anzu! Oh, and uh.. Um, n-nice meeting you, Pharaoh,” Jounouchi added hesitantly as he waved goodbye.

 _“You too,”_ Atem replied, smiling and nodding politely.

“Bye guys! See you on Monday!” Honda called out as he followed Jounouchi out the door.

“Bye!”

“See ya!”

The kitchen suddenly became much more quiet, as Yuugi, Anzu, and Atem once again were the only ones in the room. For a moment, no one said anything; They simply relaxed, taking a moment to breathe.

“See? I knew it would turn out fine,” Yuugi said after a moment, smiling proudly at Atem.

 _“You’re the one who kept worrying about it,”_ Atem reminded him, raising an eyebrow. _“But yes, I’m glad things went well.”_

“Pretty sure Jounouchi thinks you’re plotting to kill us all in our sleep, though,” Anzu pointed out as she began wordlessly helping with the cleanup, starting by putting away the legos.

Atem’s expression fell slightly, looking almost sad for a moment, before rolling his eyes and shaking his head in dismay. _“Look, I said multiple times, I’m not going to hurt anyone. If Jounouchi doesn’t believe me, that’s his problem, not mine,”_ he decided, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Anzu raised an eyebrow. “Ooookay… Well, anyway, I should probably head out too,” she decided. “Yuugi, is there anything else I can help clean up before I leave?”

“No, I think I’ve got it,” Yuugi assured her with a shake of his head. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“Alright then. See you guys on Monday,” Anzu said, smiling as she picked up her bag, stood up, and headed for the door.

“Oh- Do you want me to walk you home?” Yuugi asked suddenly. “I know it’s dark out, so…”

Anzu gave an amused snort. “Thanks, but… Let’s be real here, you’re the one who needs me to walk you home, not the other way around,” she told him with a sympathetic, almost condescending look.

 _“Ouch,”_ Atem laughed.

“Hey! ...Yeah, you’re probably right, though,” Yuugi reluctantly admitted, slumping over in defeat.

Anzu laughed, and gave Yuugi a sympathetic pat on the back. “Bye, Yuugi. Thanks for DMing. Bye, Pharaoh,” she added as she left.

 _“Bye,”_ Atem replied with an enthusiastic wave.

“Have a good night, Anzu,” Yuugi called after her. “See you at school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two different hard-to-spot references to other series in this chapter. Anyone know what they are? ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 1996, everyone! All of the games referenced in this chapter are real arcade games that were popular in Japan in 1996. With the exception of DDR, which wasn't released until 1998, but apparently existed in 1996 in the Yugioh universe..?  
> Speaking of the 90s, today I had the interesting experience of playing Pokemon using two official starter theme decks from the Jungle expansion, and my god those decks are poorly balanced. Wtf... Trading cards have come a long way.

That music… Why did Yuugi keep hearing it?

Somehow, there seemed to be music that Yuugi just could not get away from. A slow, mellow, cheery piece, with an electronic sound to it, occasionally interrupted by beeps and murmurs, but otherwise endlessly looping the same tune... No matter where Yuugi went, or what he did, he couldn’t seem to get away from that music; It was always there, in the background, somehow. Not only that, but he had no idea where it was coming from, and he felt like he’d heard it before, but couldn’t recall where.

Ugh, where _ was _ that music coming from, anyway? It had to be coming from somewhere… What was… Who the hell was playing such loud music outside Yuugi’s house so early in the morning?! Yuugi opened his eyes to look, and-

...As the wheels of his mind slowly began turning, gradually growing more awake, he realized that the source of the music was not outside (which, if he was being totally honest, was a weird assumption to make anyway). And that music was…

He glanced over at the desk, where his Gameboy lay flat. Yup, there was no mistaking it: Yoshi’s Cookie.

Atem glanced up in surprise as Yuugi made a vague, unintelligible angry grumbling noise.  _ “Oh, good morning,”  _ Atem said cheerfully.

Yuugi growled again, and waved his hand aimlessly in the general direction of the desk.

Atem frowned in confusion at Yuugi.  _ “Um…” _

“...’S loud,” Yuugi managed after a moment, voice hoarse from sleep.

_ “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was that loud,”  _ Atem apologized. He hastily tried to turn the volume down, searching the device for the volume slider.

“Mmh,” was all Yuugi had to say, before yawning and stumbling towards the door, still half asleep.

_ “Ah, Yuugi-”  _ Atem called out as he realized Yuugi left the Millennium Puzzle behind; But his reminder went unheard, as Yuugi closed the door behind him and headed down the stairs.  _ “...Oh. Okay.” _

Atem blinked in surprise, and frowned slightly as he stared at the closed door; Was Yuugi upset with him? He hoped not… Well, he’d find out later, he supposed.

He turned the Gameboy off, and sat calmly in the desk chair, waiting for Yuugi to return with a patience that only a ghost could have.

A little while later (presumably after breakfast), Yuugi came back, still in his pajamas but looking a fair bit more awake.

_ “Um… Good morning,”  _ Atem said hesitantly.

“Good morning,” Yuugi replied, as he opened one of the dresser drawers.

Atem watched slightly nervously as Yuugi chose his outfit for the day, waiting for Yuugi to scold him for waking him up. When Yuugi simply continued digging through the drawer, saying nothing, Atem decided to make the first move.

_ “Listen, uh… I’m sorry I woke you up,”  _ he said, with a slightly guilty expression.  _ “I didn’t mean to make it so loud, honestly! I thought it was quiet enough, I didn’t realize the noise was going to be a problem. I’ll be sure to turn the sound off from now on,”  _ he promised.

“Oh, that’s ok,” Yuugi answered casually. “I know you wouldn’t do something like that on purpose. Why? Did you think I was mad at you or something?”

“Well… Yes, I assumed so,” Atem admitted.

Yuugi shook his head as he took off his pajama shirt, and threw it towards the bed. “No, I’m just grumpy when I first wake up sometimes. I mean, I was a little annoyed at first, but I wasn’t really mad at you,” he assured Atem. “Sorry if I made it seem like I was.”

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “Oh… Well… That’s good then, I guess. Anyway, what are we doing today?”  _ he wondered.

“Going to the arcade with Jounouchi-kun!” Yuugi answered cheerfully. “I haven’t gone in a while because I figured I should save that money for our trip, but as long as I only spend a little, I think it shouldn’t make too much of an impact… And I thought you might like to see it,” he admitted.

_ “What’s an arcade?” _

“It’s a place where you can go and play all sorts of video games, even ones you can’t get at home! Although they do cost money, so you have to choose carefully which ones you most want to play,” Yuugi explained. “You can also compare your high scores to other people who have played the same games, and try to get into the top ten.”

Atem gave a thoughtful hum.  _ “Sounds fun. When are we going?” _

“In about…” Yuugi glanced at the clock. “An hour or so.”

_ “Alright. Want to duel a little bit before we leave?”  _ Atem suggested, with a hint of a taunting smile.

Yuugi grinned right back. “Sure, but… After I finish my homework, ok?” he laughed.

* * *

_ “Yuugi, look at that cat!”  _ Atem gasped, pointing to the creature in question.  _ “It’s so… ugly. I mean, all cats are good, but… I have never seen a cat so ugly before,”  _ he said in awe.

Yuugi glanced from Atem to the so-called “cat”, and back again, raising an eyebrow. 

“Ok, you’re going to hate me for saying this, but… That’s a dog,” he informed Atem.

_ “Oh, come  _ **_on._ ** _ Now you’re just pushing it. You can’t seriously expect me to believe that-” _

“Hey guys!” Jounouchi interrupted the argument, waving cheerfully as he walked up to Yuugi and Atem, having turned a corner from another street. “What’s up?”

“Jounouchi-kun! Good timing,” Yuugi exclaimed. “Can you please tell Atem-”

_ “Jounouchi kun, tell Yuugi-” _

“-That a chihuahua is, in fact, a dog?”

_ “-That there is no way in hell that thing is a dog.” _

Jounouchi blinked, staring at the bickering pair with a confused, dazed expression, even as the aforementioned chihuahua and its owner walked on and gradually disappeared from view.

“Uh… Are you two, like… ok?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Yuugi sighed. “I don’t… know how to explain the concept of dogs to Atem,” he muttered tiredly. 

_ “No, what’s  _ **_really_ ** _ going on here is that Yuugi and Anzu think it’s funny to try to convince me that any animal with four legs and a tail is a dog,”  _ Atem insisted, crossing his arms and scowling. 

“No, I’m telling you, there’s just a lot of different breeds of dogs now! Why would I try to pull such a dumb prank?!” Yuugi exclaimed in exasperation. 

_ “Come on, it’s so obvious they’re not dogs. Give it up already.” _

“Yes, they  _ are.” _

_ “Oh yeah? And are lions dogs now too, then, seeing as how they’re furry quadrupedal carnivores? Huh?”  _ Atem demanded, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“No, lions are cats.  _ Chihuahuas _ are dogs, because they are. Just accept it already, geez,” Yuugi huffed in response. 

_ “They are not.” _

“Are too!”

_ “Are not!” _

“Are-”

“Hey, uh… No offense, but you two miiiight want to put this argument on hold for a while,” Jounouchi interrupted, giving Yuugi an awkward nudge with his elbow. “People are kinda starting to stare,” he added in a whisper. 

“O-Oh. Oops,” Yuugi said quietly, blushing bright red as he realized he’d been- in the eyes of most people, anyway- shouting at thin air for the past several minutes. He curled in on himself in embarrassment, staring at the ground and hoping nobody was paying too much attention. 

_ “Sorry,”  _ Atem apologized quickly, practically whispering, although it wasn’t like anyone could hear him anyway. 

After a few minutes, Jounouchi laughed. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two were brothers,” he commented, glancing over at Yuugi and Atem with a fond, amused look. 

“Really? What makes you say that?” Yuugi asked in surprise- still speaking quietly, just to be safe. 

“Well first of all, you totally argue just like siblings. Trust me, I would know. And you look alike, too,” Jounouchi explained. 

Yuugi and Atem stared at each other with (ironically, almost identical) curious, innocently dumbfounded expressions, as if trying to spot the resemblance Jounouchi claimed they shared. 

_ “...We don’t really look  _ **_that_ ** _ alike, do we?”  _ Atem wondered.  _ “Although I guess we do have similar hair…” _

Jounouchi shrugged. “Well if I’m being honest, Yuugi has like, astonished puppy eyes and you have cat-plotting-evil-schemes eyes-”

_ “What.” _

“-But aside from that? If it weren’t for the difference in skin tone, you guys could totally be twins,” Jounouchi decided. 

“Hmm… I’ve heard of twins having different skin tones, if they’re mixed race,” Yuugi recalled thoughtfully. “So I guess it’s not impossible… Aside from the fact that it’s not true, obviously.”

“Maybe you two were twins in a past life, or something,” Jounouchi suggested. “Or maybe the Pharaoh is like, your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa,” he continued, pausing to take a breath after so many “great”s. 

“I do remember grandpa once saying I’m like, one-sixteenth Egyptian, or something like that,” Yuugi admitted.

Jounouchi grinned. “See? Mystery solved. You two are related,” he proclaimed with a decisive nod. 

Atem frowned thoughtfully.  _ “I suppose it’s not impossible, but… I really don’t think family resemblance is  _ **_that_ ** _ strong, especially after so many generations,”  _ he pointed out.  _ “Also, I most certainly did not have any children thank you very much, so if anything I’d be his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great… cousin, or… something.”  _ He frowned a bit more and shrugged. 

“Oh yeah, I guess you’re kinda young for kids, huh…” Jounouchi realized. “Hey, speaking of which, I’ve been wondering… How did you die, anyway?” he asked. 

Atem’s expression suddenly soured, frown turning from puzzled to angry.  **_“NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS, JOUNOUCHI,”_ ** he snapped, in that intimidating, commanding tone Yuugi had hardly heard him use in quite some time. 

“Okay, okay!” Jounouchi shrieked, putting his hands up in surrender. “Sorry I asked! I-I didn’t mean to offend you, I swear! I won’t ask again, I promise!” he stammered. 

“Aaand people are staring again,” Yuugi muttered, sighing. 

_ “Oh, I should probably stop talking to you guys, huh,”  _ Atem said, looking slightly dejected.  _ “Best not to risk stuff like this happening anymore.” _

Yuugi gave Atem an apologetic look. “Well, on the bright side, it won’t matter once we get to the arcade. It’s always super loud in there, and everyone’s so absorbed in their own games they probably won’t pay attention to us anyway,” he pointed out. 

“Yeah, and I’m always yelling at the games, anyway,” Jounouchi added with a laugh. 

Yuugi laughed along with him, just as the arcade itself came into view a few buildings away. 

“Man, I can’t wait to try the new Virtua Fighter,” Jounouchi said with glee, looking excited. 

Yuugi nodded in enthusiastic agreement. “Me too! I heard it has moving stages,” he gasped. 

“Yeah, and the new girl’s pretty hot, too,” Jounouchi whispered with a teasing grin. 

Yuugi rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t hide a slight smile. “Oh, come on, she’s so generic,” he argued. “Besides, I know you’re just gonna play Lion, anyway.”

“Oh yeah, what makes you so sure?!”

“Because you  _ always _ play Lion. You hardly ever play anyone else,” Yuugi pointed out, giving Jounouchi a mildly sarcastic look as they approached the arcade entrance. 

* * *

Atem gasped in awe as he followed Yuugi and Jounouchi into the arcade, taking in the room so unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He barely even noticed as several people walked through him, so entranced by the dazzling lights that he practically forgot how to even move. All around them were dozens upon dozens of video games; Not confined to the computers at the internet cafe, nor the blurry old TV (as he had finally learned it was called, not a computer) in the living room, nor even the tiny green screen of Yuugi’s Gameboy, but instead large box-like cabinets emblazoned with colorful images of the games inside them, lights flashing enticingly to lure in players. Some even had unusual gimmicks, like fake guns or headsets, and all of them blared music so loud it made the Gameboy music that had woken Yuugi that morning seem practically silent.

It was chaotic, overwhelming, and beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

“Aw man, looks like there’s a bit of a line for Virtua Fighter,” Jounouchi observed, frowning in disappointment. “Maybe we should wait…”

“Yeah, probably,” Yuugi agreed with a nod. “Want to play something else in the meantime?”

“Sure. How about Laser Ghost?” Jounouchi suggested.

Yugi shook his head and grinned sheepishly. “I’d love to, but I’m no good at Laser Ghost,” he admitted. “Have fun, though!”

“Hang on. Did you just say there’s a game… that you’re  _ not _ good at?” Jounouchi questioned, glancing around the room with a puzzled expression, as if searching for something. “Are you sure you’re the real Yuugi, or did some crazy supervillain replace you with a clone or something?”

Yuugi laughed, blushing slightly. “Come on, Jounouchi-kun, just because I’m good at games in general doesn’t mean I’m good at _ every _ game! I’m bad at Laser Ghost because I’m too short,” he confessed.

Jounouchi frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? How would being short make you bad at video games?”

“You know how it has those little stools you sit on to play? They’re too low for me, so I can’t actually tilt down far enough to see the lower half of the screen,” Yuugi explained. “I’ve tried playing it while sort of half standing up, but it’s a really tough pose to hold, and not very comfortable…”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Jounouchi admitted. 

_ “What is Laser Ghost?”  _ Atem asked- the first thing he’d said since arriving at the arcade, after finally snapping out of his trance and drifting back over to his friends.

“It’s this game that has a special gun controller that lets you see ghosts on the screen, and then you have to shoot them to- U-Um, I mean, uh... Hey, look! Looks like SegaSonic’s free, let’s go play that!” Jounouchi stammered suddenly, hurriedly rushing off to the game in question for fear of offending Atem again.

Atem raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless followed Jounouchi without comment, along with Yuugi.

“I call Mighty!” Jounouchi announced as he sat down in one of the small seats in front of the game, popping several coins into the slot on the front.

_ “Oh, I know this one. It’s Sonic,”  _ Atem recalled as he watched from over Yuugi’s shoulder. 

Yuugi nodded. “Yup, although this one’s a bit different from the other Sonic games I’ve showed you. It’s kinda like Marble Madness- Oh, have I showed you that game?” he asked absentmindedly as his eyes remained glued to the screen, jumping over obstacles with ease.

Atem shook his head.  _ “I don’t think so. This game looks fun, though.” _

Atem continued to watch as Yuugi and Jounouchi progressed further and further through the game; Though anyone else would likely have gotten bored, watching someone else play a game without getting to do anything for so long, it was no bother to Atem, who had grown used to being a silent observer. Eventually, though, the game ended, as Jounouchi’s character fell and the laughing face of Dr. Eggman filled the screen.

“Aw, and we were so close that time…” Jounouchi muttered with a slight pout.

“Well, maybe we can beat it next time,” Yuugi said, always the optimist even as he tilted his head in shy defeat.

_ “That game looks really fun,”  _ Atem commented.  _ “I enjoyed watching you play it.” _

“Oh, do you want to play with us, Pharaoh?” Jounouchi asked. “You could if you want, you know! The game goes up to three players, and I doubt anyone would notice if you joined in.”

Atem gave a subdued, melancholy smile.  _ “I appreciate the invitation, but I can’t,”  _ he replied somewhat apologetically.

“What? Why not?” Jounouchi exclaimed in surprise.

_ “Hmm… How do I put this…”  _ Atem muttered, trying to figure out how best to explain the situation.  _ “Think about it this way: When you play most video games, do you look more at the controls, or the screen?”  _ he began.

“The screen, of course.”

Atem nodded.  _ “Right. You watch the screen, and rely on your sense of touch to be able to move the controls correctly. But I… don’t really have that,”  _ he admitted, with just the slightest hint of a barely detectable change in tone, what may have been in equal parts either sadness or shame.  _ “So I can play games like Pokemon, for example, where it’s fine for me to look at the buttons, but I can’t play anything that requires reaction timing. Which is… Most video games, to be honest,”  _ he explained.

Jounouchi gasped. “Aw, shit… Man, I didn’t even think of that… That’s awful. I’m really sorry, bro,” he said sincerely, with a sad look in his eyes.

_ “That’s alright. I like watching other people play, too,”  _ Atem assured him with a warm smile.  _ “We had nothing even remotely like video games in my time, so just watching is still really fascinating.” _

“Oh… Well… Alright then,” Jounouchi replied somewhat awkwardly, casting a worried glance at Yuugi (who seemed to share Jounouchi’s sentiment, if his expression was anything to go by). “Uh, anyway… Looks like the line for the new Virtua Fighter got shorter,” he observed, nodding in the direction of the game in question. “Wanna go get in line?”

“Sure,” Yuugi agreed.

Once the two of them had made their way over to the game and fallen into place at the end of the line, Jounouchi bounced excitedly, standing on his tiptoes and leaning to either side to try to catch a glimpse of the game beyond the people in front of him.

“Man, I can’t wait to try this one out! Virtua Fighter is so fucking cool, I’m like, so excited for the new one,” he rambled, giddy with excitement.

“Yeah, me too,” Yuugi agreed, though he… Didn’t seem to share Jounouchi’s enthusiasm. 

He stared pensively at nothing in particular, lost in thought. He couldn’t seem to let go of what Atem had said earlier; Although it was true that he’d known that for a while (he had, after all, witnessed Atem fail spectacularly at an attempt to play Super Mario World), somehow it seemed to stick with him more this time. Perhaps it was just the atmosphere of being in an arcade, and the thought of spending the day in one without ever getting to play, but somehow he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Atem. Guilt, even. If only…

...If only…

“...Hey, Atem. I have an idea,” Yuugi began hesitantly- Uncertain if what he was about to say was crazy or not, but he had to try.

_ “Hmm? What is it?”  _ Atem replied, glancing questioningly at Yuugi.

“Um… Do you remember, uh, well… The time you, um… Possessed Ushio-kun?”

Atem frowned in confusion.  _ “Yeah, why?” _

“Well, I was thinking… um…” Yuugi trailed off for a moment, fidgeting nervously, deeply uncertain about what he was about to say. “What if… um… W-What if you tried possessing me? And then you could uh, you know, try some other games,” he finally managed to stammer out.

Atem’s eyes widened slowly.

_ “You… You want me to possess you?”  _ he repeated in a quiet gasp.  _ “Yuugi, do you know what you’re saying? I mean- I-I couldn’t, I would never do something like that to you-” _

“Yeah, what the hell, man?!” Jounouchi whispered. “That’d be messed up! And… Wait, what do you mean, he possessed Ushio?!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yuugi replied, shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively. “Anyway, it’d only be for a few minutes! And besides… I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I trust you,” he told Atem quietly. “Um, I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course… But I just figured you might want to try some games.”

Atem shiftered nervously, an uncertain expression on his face. Yuugi could see the conflict and hesitation in his eyes as he glanced from Yuugi to the games around them- clearly interested in the games, but…

_ “...Are you… Are you sure about this, Yuugi?”  _ he asked quietly. 

Yuugi nodded. “Of course. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise,” he assured Atem. “I want you to have fun.”

_ “Alright… well… Let’s wait until it’s our turn to play,”  _ Atem decided, nodding towards the game in front of them.  _ “And if you change your mind, tell me, ok?” _

“Of course.”

After a few minutes, the last players in line in front of them finished their game, leaving it open for Yuugi and Jounouchi to play. Both of them put in their 100 yen each, and then Yuugi and Atem exchanged glances. 

_ “Alright… Ready?”  _ Atem asked. 

“Ready,” Yuugi confirmed with a nod, and closed his eyes. 

A moment later, Yuugi blinked curiously as he found himself suddenly  _ outside _ his body. Atem blinked as well, looking equally intrigued, staring down at his hands and slowly stretching them out with a bewildered expression.

“Uh… You guys good?” Jounouchi questioned awkwardly, gaze flickering from Atem to Yuugi with wide, nervous eyes, grimacing slightly in concern. 

“I think so,” Atem replied with a nod, still stretching out his limbs and tilting his neck experimentally, as if waking up from a nap.

_ “I’m good,”  _ Yuugi agreed, giving a reassuring thumbs up. 

Jounouchi nodded, satisfied that his friends were alright. “In that case, ready to fight me, Pharaoh?” he said with a taunting grin. 

Atem grinned right back. “Sure. You’ll have to show me how this game works, first, but don’t think I’ll be an easy opponent,” he warned ominously. (God, it was weird physically  _ hearing _ his voice… It wasn’t too different, but it felt more real, like speaking face-to-face with someone you’ve only ever heard speak from behind a closed door.)

Yuugi watched as Atem quickly got the hang of Virtua Fighter, enthusiastically joining Jounouchi in trying out all the new features of the third game. At first, Yuugi watched the screen with interest, gasping in awe at the moving stages and 3D character portraits, observing the new characters’ movesets… But after a while, he found himself zoning out. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in the game! He certainly was; He was just… distracted, unsurprisingly, by the experience of being without a physical body. 

It was an odd, surreal feeling, like being the only digital character in a world of real people, or those rare moments just before falling asleep where it feels like you’re flying or swinging through the air. As much as he knew on a rational level that he was fine, and he trusted Atem to keep him safe, he’d have been lying if he’d said it wasn’t at least a little bit scary; He couldn’t help but wonder if this was what every day felt like to Atem.  

Not to mention, the more he looked at Atem (or, technically, himself), the more he realized that… Just as Jounouchi had said, they really  _ did _ look alike. The influence of Atem’s soul had caused Yuugi’s hair to become more messy and his eyes sharper, changing in hue from his usual violet to a striking crimson; Other than that, nothing seemed to have changed, yet were it not for his much paler complexion, Yuugi could almost have thought he was looking at a suddenly solidified Atem rather than his own body. It was bizarre, really. Maybe they really were related after all, he thought, as far-fetched as that was.

Meanwhile, Atem remained completely absorbed in the game, a wide smile of child-like joy stretching across his (Yuugi’s) face. Whether he was genuinely good at the game, or Yuugi’s body just had some serious muscle memory, he wasn’t sure; Either way, he was pleased to find that once he’d learned the basics of Virtua Fighter, it didn’t take long before he was able to hold his own against Jounouchi.

Although, if Atem was being honest… Even if he had been completely terrible at the game, he still would have loved it. The colorful images, interesting characters, the music and sounds, flashing lights and visual effects, the gameplay… The fact that just by pressing a button, or tilting a stick, he could make a picture of a tiny person run, jump, and kick as if it were real..! It would never stop being astounding to him. Modern technology was so cool. (If only he could show it to his friends back home; Mana would have loved it, he was sure.)

“Alright, it’s our final match… You ready for this?” Jounouchi interrupted Atem’s train of thought with a grin.

Atem laughed. “Let’s do it!”

The word Atem had come to learn signaled the start of a match appeared on screen, and not a second later, their characters became locked in an intense struggle. Atem dodged backwards to avoid Jounouchi’s jab, retaliated with a kick of his own, jumped, took a direct hit, countered…

...And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something eerily familiar for just a fraction of a second. A flash of white hair, a menacing grin-

“-Atem?”

“Uh, Pharaoh? You ok there, buddy?”

Atem blinked confusedly as he realized that his friends were talking to him- And that he was no longer in Yuugi’s body.

_ “Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just…” _

He glanced over to where he’d seen him; No, nothing there. Must have just been a trick of the light.

_ “...Just got distracted for a moment there, that’s all,”  _  he assured the others. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then turned towards Yuugi.  _ “That was a lot of fun. Thank you,”  _ he said sincerely, smiling and nodding his head slightly in gratitude. 

For a brief second, a flicker of worry crossed Yuugi’s face, before he soon smiled back. “You’re welcome! I’m glad you had fun! I really wanted you to have the opportunity to play with us, so I’m glad it worked out.”

Atem nodded and smiled once again.  _ “So, what now?”  _ he wondered, glancing around the arcade, still intrigued by the sight of it all. 

“I dunno. Jounouchi-kun, what do you want to do?”

Jounouchi hummed thoughtfully and took a deep breath, putting his arms up and resting his hands on the back of his head in a casual stretch after bending over the Virtua Fighter 3 cabinet for so long. “Mm… To be honest, I really wanna play Laser Ghost,” he admitted. “You mind playing solo for a while, Yuugi?”

“Sure,” Yuugi replied with a shrug. 

_ “Can I watch you, Jounouchi-kun? I’d like to see this-” _

“Hey, Atem! Let’s go see if I can beat the high score on Frogger!” Yuugi interrupted hastily, with a slight nervous laugh. (Jounouchi shot him a quick look of gratitude.)

_ “Alright,”  _ Atem replied, oblivious to Yuugi and Jounouchi’s nervousness. 

While Jounouchi went in one direction, Atem followed Yuugi towards another, to the Frogger cabinet. 

Yuugi popped his 100 yen into the coin slot and sat down, wrapping his fingers around the joystick almost reflexively as he hit the start button. Within seconds, he’d already made it across the screen, the music changing melodies before it even finished the first phrase. He continued navigating the screen with flawless ease, his score continually going up, until the five frogs at the top of the screen smiled widely as the round complete jingle announced his initial victory. And then, it started over.

All the while, Atem watched from behind him, quiet except for the occasional  _ “Ah!”  _ and _ “Oh…” _ whenever Yuugi lost a life. Seconds stretched on into minutes, Yuugi’s score climbed higher and higher, and yet… And yet, Atem found himself growing increasingly less excited by the game, and increasingly more distracted. 

Even though he knew that what he’d seen earlier had been nothing more than an illusion- probably a product of one of the many flashing images on the arcade machines, and an overactive imagination- yet he couldn’t help but feel somewhat on edge. He found himself compulsively glancing around for signs of danger, snapping to attention any time he caught a glimpse of movement out of his peripheral vision… Which, as it turned out, was often.  _ Very _ often.

Paranoia was really not the greatest state of mind to be in in the middle of a goddamn arcade. 

“Are you ok, Atem? You seem kind of… Tense,” Yuugi noticed, frowning in concern. 

It took a moment before Atem even realized Yuugi was talking to him- At which point he suddenly felt a pang of guilt, seeing the worried look on Yuugi’s face. (God, Jounouchi had really hit the nail on the head when he’d said Yuugi had puppy eyes; Every time Yuugi looked even slightly upset, Atem felt like he should exile himself for his crimes, whatever those were.)

_ “Yes, I’m fine,”  _ he assured Yuugi quickly.

Yuugi seemed unconvinced, as evidenced by his deepening frown. “Ah… I guess the arcade must be pretty overwhelming, huh?” he said softly, giving Atem a sympathetic look. “Well then, how about we head home?” he suggested.

Atem blinked in surprise and quickly shook his head, not expecting such a response.  _ “O-Oh, no, that’s alright, I wouldn’t want to interrupt! Really, I’m-” _

Yuugi shook his head as well, smiling gently. “No, don’t worry about it. I have anxiety and stuff, so I totally get it, it’s ok. Besides, I don’t want to spend too much money, and we’ve already played three games, so it’s a good time to go,” he pointed out. 

_ “Oh… Well… If you’re sure,”  _ Atem replied, now feeling too awkward to correct Yuugi. (And besides, it… Probably wasn’t like he’d really be able to come up with a decent excuse, anyway.)

Atem followed Yuugi as he wandered the arcade, searching for Jounouchi, who they soon found waiting in line for another game. This game was different from the others, with a large screen, and a raised platform with arrows on it; A quick glance at it told Atem that it was some sort of dance game, with the arrows on the platform corresponding to arrows on the screen.

“Hey, Yuugi! How’d you do on Frogger?” Jounouchi asked cheerfully, waving to the two of them.

Yuugi shrugged. “Eh, I got third. I just can’t seem to beat Mokuba-kun’s high score on this one,” he admitted with a slight frown. 

“Ah, well… Keep trying! I’m sure you’ll get it eventually!” Jounouchi assured him with an encouraging thumbs-up.

“Thanks!” Yuugi replied with a smile. “Anyway, we’re actually going to head out now.”

Jounouchi looked slightly disappointed. “Aww, already? Alright… See you guys tomorrow, I guess.”

Yuugi nodded, and waved goodbye. “Bye, Jounouchi-kun!”

_ “See you tomorrow,”  _ Atem added with a smile, and followed Yuugi towards the door.

He glanced around the arcade one last time before he left, just to be sure.

* * *

The next day, Atem sat on the floor next to Yuugi’s desk, as he always did during class. The events of the previous day had been all but forgotten overnight, after several hours spent meticulously training his Haunter.

_ “You brought the link cable, right?”  _ he asked Yuugi, just to be sure. 

Yuugi said nothing, but nodded in response, prompting Atem to turn towards Jounouchi.  _ “Jounouchi-kun, did you bring your Gameboy?” _

Jounouchi started to nod- and then paused, a sudden guilty, embarrassed expression coming over him. “...Oops,” he whispered quietly.

Atem sighed and shook his head in dismay.  _ “Oh well. That’s alright. We can trade tomorrow, I guess,”  _ he decided reluctantly.

Jounouchi remained quiet, but shot Atem a quick apologetic look.

A moment later, the teacher walked in, prompting the class to stop whatever they were doing and sit up a little bit more straight. Atem watched the students around him go through the motions of the morning- greeting the teacher, bowing, and so forth, so routine they almost looked bored; Yuugi, for example, moved and spoke almost automatically, lost in thought about other things as he stared idly towards the front of the classroom, wondering about what kind of deck to build for the new Pokemon card game, or-

“Alright, class, I have an announcement to make,” the teacher called out, suddenly interrupting Yuugi’s train of thought and snapping him back to reality. “Starting today, a new classmate will be joining you,” the teacher continued, and began writing a name on the blackboard.

A new classmate, huh… Yuugi did recall hearing some rumours going around school about a new transfer student. (He also distinctly remembered some of the girls claiming that the new student was especially cute, and idly wondered if this was true or not.)

Yuugi got his answer as a boy with messy white hair and bright-yet-tired eyes walked into the room, bowing politely. 

“Um, hello everyone… My name is Bakura Ryou. It’s nice to-”

**_“You!”_ ** Atem suddenly shouted, jumping up from the floor and standing up with an angry, almost fighting stance, as the lights in the room flashed suddenly; Atem’s whole figure was tense, his eyes were wide, and his teeth tightly clenched. Yuugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda all looked towards him in surprise, faces displaying varying amounts of shock, confusion, and concern.

“-And I hope to make lots of new friends.”

...It suddenly became clear that Bakura did not see Atem, and he was in fact seemingly just yelling for no reason. He blushed in embarrassment, and reluctantly sat down, still fuming slightly.

“Everything ok?” Yuugi whispered quietly, glancing only briefly at Atem with a look of confused concern.

Atem merely grunted irritatedly in response.

“Let’s see… It looks like there’s an open seat next to Jounouchi-kun,” the teacher told Bakura, pointing out the seat in question.

“Watch out, Bakura-kun! Jounouchi’s a real bad influence!” one student called out.

“Aw, shut up!” Jounouchi shouted back.

Bakura, however, ignored the warning, and sat down in the empty chair. “Nice to meet you, Jounouchi-kun,” he said in a soft, polite voice, smiling gently at Jounouchi.

Jounouchi grinned back. “You too, Bakura! Let’s be friends, yeah?”

_ “Stay away from him,”  _ Atem growled at Bakura, drifting quickly over to Jounouchi to stand almost protectively next to him, glaring at Bakura with arms crossed.

Jounouchi frowned and raised an eyebrow at Atem, with an expression that seemed almost halfway between confusion and sarcasm.

“Something wrong?” Bakura asked with a worried tilt of the head, upon seeing Jounouchi’s face. Jounouchi quickly looked up and turned his attention back towards Bakura, putting on his best poker face.

“O-Oh no, not at all! Just got distracted for a minute there, is all,” he assured Bakura with an awkward laugh. “Uh, anyway… How about I introduce you to my friends?” he suggested.

Bakura seemed pleased by this idea, his sleepy smile perking up a bit. “I would like that very much!”

Jounouchi smiled, and stood up, leading Bakura towards the others. Atem followed very closely behind Jounouchi, staying between him and Bakura at all times, glaring daggers at the poor unwitting boy.

“These guys are Yuugi, Anzu, and Honda,” Jounouchi introduced his friends, gesturing to the group that had gathered around Yuugi’s desk.

“Hi, nice to meet you!” Yuugi told Bakura cheerfully.

“Nice to meet you, Bakura-kun!”

“Hello!”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Bakura replied, smiling and bowing politely.

_ “Listen to me. None of you should be talking to him!”  _ Atem insisted urgently.  _ “Don’t trust him!” _

The others gave Atem several more concerned, confused looks, but quickly attempted to hide them, to his frustration.

“Um… Yuugi-kun, was it?” Bakura began hesitantly, interrupting the confusion and drawing Yuugi’s attention back towards him. “Have we… met somewhere before? I feel like you look familiar, but I can’t place it,” he admitted with a slight frown.

_ “Oh _ **_no,”_ ** Atem whispered, eyes going wide.

Yuugi tilted his head thoughtfully. “Hmm… Well, do you like games at all, Bakura-kun?” he asked. “My family owns a game shop, so if you’ve ever been there, you might have seen me around.”

_ “Yuugi! Don’t tell him where you live!”  _ Atem gasped, waving a hand at Yuugi in some sort of vague alarmed, reprimanding gesture. Yuugi shot him another quick confused frown.

“I do like games!” Bakura replied with an enthusiastic nod. “I guess that might be it, then.”

“Really? I like games too!” Yuugi exclaimed in excitement. “What kind do you like?”

“Um… I like some video games, but I mostly really like board games and tabletop games,” Bakura answered. “My favorite game is Dungeons and Dragons!”

“Hey, we play that game too!” Jounouchi interrupted excitedly.

Bakura made an expression of pleasant surprise. “Really?!”

“Yeah! It’s my first time playing,” Jounouchi replied. “Yuugi’s the DM!”

“Our team comp is pretty bad, but we have fun anyway,” Anzu added with a laugh.

Yuugi suddenly gasped, as if he’d just gotten a sudden idea. “Hey, I know! Bakura-kun-”

_ “Yuugi, do _ **_not-”_ **

“Why don’t we play a one-shot together sometime?”

**_“No!”_ ** Atem shouted, once again drawing the surprised attention of all of his friends.

Yuugi frowned deeply, and stood up. “Um, excuse me for a minute, I… need to go to the bathroom,” he muttered, and quickly hurried out the door, with Atem in tow.

Yuugi did indeed head towards the bathroom, followed all the while by Atem, who seemed to give off an almost tangible aura of anger. Yuugi went inside, did a quick check to make sure no one else was around, and turned towards Atem with a sigh.

“Alright, what’s gotten into you? What’s your problem with Bakura?” he asked, crossing his arms.

_ “Listen. You can’t trust him,”  _ Atem insisted.  _ “You need to stay away from him at all costs, understand? He’s dangerous, and not to be trusted.” _

“That doesn’t make any sense. He hasn’t done anything wrong,” Yuugi pointed out confusedly. “He seems nice!”

_ “He is most certainly  _ **_not_ ** _ ‘nice’,”  _ Atem growled.

“I don’t think it’s very fair of you to judge Bakura-kun without getting to know him first. I think he’s nice, and I want to try to be friends with him,” Yuugi repeated firmly.

_“You_ ** _can’t!”_** Atem continued to insist, growing increasingly more and more agitated, as the lights flickered once again.

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”

_ “Because… Because, alright?!”  _ Atem replied vaguely. _ “Just… trust me, please,”  _ he added, more softly.

“You’re not giving me any reason to trust you,” Yuugi told him. “All I see is you just condemning poor Bakura-kun within seconds of meeting him, not taking the time to get to know him, and refusing to tell me why.”

_ “Look, I _ **_know_ ** _ what I’m talking about, alright?! Just… Just stay away from him! He’s  _ **_not_ ** _ your friend! If you keep trying to be nice to him, you’ll just get hurt! He’s dangerous! He is  _ **_not! Your! Damn! Friend!”_ **

Yuugi took a deep breath, seeing the way Atem seemed to grow increasingly more distressed, a wild look in his eyes. “Alright, you need to calm down-”

**_“I AM PERFECTLY CALM! DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”_ ** Atem screamed, as the lights flashed so brightly Yuugi found himself worrying they might break, and every single stall door in the bathroom slammed loudly, causing Yuugi to jump in surprise.

“That’s enough. You’re being totally unreasonable. I’m not going to listen to you if you’re going to keep acting like this,” Yuugi decided, putting his hands on his hips.  _ “I’m _ going to be friends with Bakura-kun, and until you give me a good, actual reason not to, you’re going to have to get over it.”

Atem gasped, eyes going wide. He suddenly fell silent, for the first time in what seemed like hours, before clenching his fists, practically shaking in anger.

_ “Then… then…  _ **_THEN JUST GO AHEAD AND DIE!”_ ** he blurted out suddenly, voice trembling.  **_“SEE WHAT I CARE!”_ **

With that, the entire room grew dark for a moment, before Atem vanished without a trace.

* * *

Yuugi stared with half-open eyes at the wall next to his bed, a view as dark, dreary, and blank as he felt. Though it was long past the time he usually went to bed, he found himself… Unable to fall asleep. Too stuck on the events of the day for his mind to be at rest.

Though most of the day had been fairly average, with no more interruptions after Atem’s initial outburst, Yuugi had spent the whole day feeling very off. After so many weeks, he’d grown used to Atem’s constant presence- his curious questions, sarcastic comments, his bright, amazed smiles at the wonders of modern technology- but after he’d disappeared that morning, there had been no sign of Atem for the rest of the day, save for a vague gloomy aura emanating from the Millennium Puzzle. The whole thing had been, frankly, pretty unsettling.

Yuugi couldn’t stop thinking about Atem’s strange behavior, feeling a… weird sense of guilt, though it wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong. What had caused his beloved friend to act so oddly? Yuugi couldn’t imagine what problem Atem could possibly have with Bakura, who’d done nothing wrong, and yet he’d freaked out the moment he set eyes on him. He was so insistent that they couldn’t trust Bakura, that they should stay away from him, but why? What was it that made him think that? It just didn’t make sense. Why did he hate Bakura so much? Not to mention, once Yuugi thought about it… Atem had been acting kind of weird at the arcade, too, although not so  _ angry  _ like he was today.

Yuugi sighed, and rolled over onto his other side, restless in his bed. To his surprise, he saw Atem sitting on the floor, curled up in a ball with his knees hugged tight to his chest. He bore just about the same expression he had all morning; Body tense, teeth clenched tightly, brow furrowed, eyes wide as saucers with-

Oh.

_ Oh. _

Everything suddenly clicked into place for Yuugi, and as it did, that feeling of guilt seemed to increase tenfold. He bit his lip, and sat up quietly.

“Hey… um…”

Atem’s head shot up as Yuugi spoke, startled to see him awake.

“...I think we need to talk,” Yuugi said quietly.

Atem said nothing at first, remaining frozen in place, before huffing slightly and turning away.

_ “Why should we? It’s not like you’re going to listen to me anyway,”  _ he muttered, just barely loud enough for Yuugi to hear.

Yuugi bit his lip again, feeling yet another stab of guilt. “Yeah… Um, about that. I… I really owe you an apology,” he began, moving to sit on the floor near Atem. “I misunderstood everything this morning, and I messed up big time because of it… I thought you were just being mean for no reason. I… thought you were angry,” he admitted. “I didn’t realize you were actually afraid of Bakura-kun. I should have listened to you instead of just dismissing you like that. I’m really sorry.”

Atem once again remained quiet, and for a moment, Yuugi worried that he’d unintentionally offended him, or upset him further somehow. But after a moment, Atem sighed and relaxed slightly, turning to face Yuugi again.

_ “...Thank you for apologizing,”  _ he said, in a soft, low tone, as if he were tired even without a physical body.  _ “I’m sorry too. You’re right, I… I was being unreasonable, and I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair of me to be so dodgy about the whole issue. I…” _

Atem trailed off, looking away for several seconds with a conflicted expression on his face, before finally looking up with a more resolute look.

_ “I suppose it’s time I told you about… How I died.” _

Yuugi gasped at this unexpected mention of Atem’s death, a subject they’d long since unspokenly agreed to be a taboo topic, one he hated to be reminded of. 

“O-Oh, no, you don’t have to!” Yuugi assured him quickly, shaking his head. “I know it was really traumatic for you, so-”

Atem gave a slight bitter laugh.  _ “Traumatic, huh? I’ve never thought of it that way, although you’re… probably right, to be honest,”  _ he admitted.  _ “The truth is, I’ve never really viewed it as anything other than my own failure. I’m just... ashamed of it.” _

“But… You said once that you don’t regret your death,” Yuugi recalled confusedly.

_ “No, I said I don’t spend all my time regretting it,”  _ Atem corrected him.  _ “What’s done is done, yes, and it’d be pointless for me to spend all eternity moping and beating myself up over it, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing regrettable about it. Uh, if that makes any sense.” _

“I think I get what you mean,” Yuugi agreed with a slow nod of understanding. “But still, you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to! Really, you don’t,” he repeated.

Atem shook his head.  _ “No, I need to stop running from my problems. You’re the one who’s all tangled up in this mess now, even though you never asked for that, so… You deserve to know,”  _ he decided.  _ “It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you everything.” _

Yuugi took a deep breath, and stood up, walking over to sit on the bed.

“Alright. If you’re sure.”

Atem nodded, and followed Yuugi to the bed. He stared out the window as he took a moment to mentally prepare himself, before turning back towards Yuugi with a determined look on his face.

_ “...The one who killed me was a thief, named Bakura.” _


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guess who's not dead! (Not Atem, that's for sure, lmao.) I didn't abandon this fic or anything, this chapter was just really, really hard to write. Like, really hard. I'm serious, that's why it took so long. You'll see what I mean.  
> I would like to give a shoutout to the Metropolitan Museum of Art- I went recently for the first time in a couple years, and I think it really helped me nail this chapter. Seeing all the ancient Egyptian art and artifacts, knowing that it was _real,_ seeing mundane things like shoes and graffiti and bowls, getting close enough to ancient Egyptian history to touch it (but not actually doing that because that would be bad for the artifacts and then poor exasperated Mr. Guard Man would have to say "No touching" for the 5th time in two minutes)... It really helped bring the setting to life. If any of you ever have the opportunity to visit the Met, I highly recommend it! Admission is pay-what-you-want for New York residents or students in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and it's still only $12 for students from out of state, so it's actually pretty affordable if you happen to already be in the city. (Really don't recommend going during the last week of December, though. I Have So Many Regrets)  
>  This isn't like, a sponsored post or anything (although if the Met wants to throw me a few bucks I'm cool with that), I just think history is pretty bitchin and everyone should experience museums. If you're not in the New York area, check out history or art museums near you anyway! Shoutout also to my fightmate, Leonardo from 1820. Leonardo, if you're out there, I CAN and WILL retroactively kill you.
> 
> Also, two quick historical notes- 1. This chapter is not an especially accurate representation of ancient Egyptian government, or even Yugioh Egyptian government for that matter. This is NOT THE MILLENNIUM WORLD ARC! So don't expect anything to be the same as canon in any way. Also, 2. It recently came to my attention that Atem is canonically stated to be 18th dynasty. I have elected to ignore this because it makes no goddamn sense chronologically or politically, so fuck that shit, he's 21st dynasty. Fight me Takahashi

_ 3,000 years ago. _

“Pharaoh… Pharaoh!”

Atem gradually drifted back to consciousness, slowly blinking himself awake. “Mm..? ...Ah!” he gasped, head snapping up as he suddenly remembered where he was and what he was doing.

“Pharaoh, please, remember your dignity,” whispered the figure standing to Atem’s right. “For the living avatar of the gods to fall asleep on the throne… Oh, the shame of it all..!”

Atem blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Sorry, gra- Uh, Siamun,” he muttered back. He sighed, blinking the sleep from his eyes one last time, before turning his attention to the room before him- the great, shining throne room of the palace- and the dignified officials who stood obediently in their places around it.

A scribe, down reverently on one knee in front of the throne with his head bowed, carefully spoke. “Great Pharaoh, it is time. May we open the court?”

“Very well,” Atem replied with a nod. 

The scribe made a noise of respectful acknowledgment, and stood up, turning towards the front of the room. “Bring in the prisoner!”

Atem watched with mild interest as a pair of guards roughly dragged forward a disheveled-looking man, with his hands bound behind his back. The man struggled uselessly against the guards, a pointless act that would bring him nothing more than a few extra bruises; Atem had seen the same behavior many times before, from countless numbers of unmemorable criminals who, in their desperate states of mind, somehow believed they had a chance of escaping. (Atem would almost feel bad for them, if they weren’t almost always horrible people.)

“L-Let me go! You can’t punish me, I didn’t take anything! I-”

“Be quiet! And kneel before your Pharaoh!” one of the guards snapped, pushing the man to the ground, forcing him into a kneeling position. Atem resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the monotonously typical scene, if only because he knew he’d just get scolded for it later. 

“This man was caught breaking into the tomb of former Pharaoh Nesbanebdjed,” the scribe announced, with a look of distaste.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t steal anything!” the prisoner shouted. “The tomb was empty when I got there! There was nothing to take! I-”

“Shut up!” the other guard bellowed, banging the butt of his spear on the ground.

“Shall he be taken to be punished, your majesty?” The scribe asked. 

The guards readied themselves to drag the prisoner off, but Atem held up his hand in signal- something the man had said had caught his attention. “Wait. Let him speak,” he ordered calmly. 

The guards nodded respectfully, relaxing their positions slightly as the rest of the room looked towards Atem with questioning glances. The prisoner went slightly pale as it hit him just what was happening. 

“You say the tomb was already empty when you arrived?” Atem questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

The man nodded quickly, fearfully. “Y-Y-Yes, great Pharaoh,” he stammered. “There was n-nothing there. Not even, not even the… The sarcophagus, your majesty. Whole place was completely empty. Your majesty.”

The youngest of the priests gave a snort of disbelief. “Please. Who do you think would believe a story like that? You insult the Pharaoh with your pathetic excuse for… An excuse,” he finished awkwardly. 

“Seto!”

“With all due respect, Pharaoh, Priest Akhenaden,” Siamun began, addressing each of them in turn, “I’m afraid I have to side with Seto on this matter. The story seems… rather far-fetched,” he admitted. 

Atem gave a puzzled frown. “Hmm… Mahaad, what can you tell me about the break-in?” he prompted, looking towards his mentor.

“Your majesty,” Mahaad acknowledged with a respectful nod. “The break-in occurred last night, between sundown and midnight. This man was found exiting the tomb, and immediately apprehended. Our subsequent search of the tomb found it to indeed be completely empty, as he said,” he recounted.

Atem narrowed his eyes at this; For a moment, he had to remind himself not to jump to any conclusions before the investigation was finished, even as his mind suggested possibility upon possibility. 

“I assume you searched the prisoner after taking him into custody?” Atem continued.

“We did, your majesty. We found nothing other than his clothes, some bread, and typical thieves’ equipment- Nothing that could have been removed from the tomb,” Mahaad answered. 

“And you searched the surrounding area as well?” 

“Of course. We found no sign of any stolen goods, nor of any accomplices,” Mahaad admitted with a sightly confused frown. 

“...Hmm.”

The room went quiet for a while, all occupants- save for the terrified-looking prisoner- frowning in puzzlement, trying to put the pieces together. After a few minutes of unsuccessful thinking, Atem spoke. 

“Bring out the Scale of Truth.”

Without a word, one of the six priests stepped forward, while a pair of scribes hurried off to a back room. A brief moment later, they returned, carrying a balancing scale cast in shining gold. 

“Priest Shada will now judge the prisoner’s heart!” the first scribe declared, as Shada accepted the scale with head bowed, and stepped before the prisoner. 

The prisoner went even paler than before, eyes widening in fear. “Wh… What are you going to do to me?!” he gasped. 

_ “I  _ am not going to do anything to you, provided you cooperate and your heart weighs true,” Shada answered. “What happens to you after that is not up to me, although perhaps you should be grateful for that,” he added, giving the man a look of distaste. 

There was a pause, the whole room watching with anticipation, before Shada once again spoke, with a more formal tone this time. 

“You are to answer each of my questions truthfully and in full, to the best of your ability, with no deception. To speak to the Scale of Truth is to speak to the gods themselves,” he began. “If you are truthful in your answers, the Scale will remain in balance. If you lie, the Scale will know, and will tilt. Do you understand?”

The prisoner took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. “Yes, I… I understand,” he answered shakily. 

“Then let’s begin,” Shada announced. “First, let’s start from the beginning. Did you, or did you not enter the tomb of the honorable former Pharaoh, his majesty Pharaoh Nesbanebdjed?”

The prisoner swallowed his fear, though he still trembled where he knelt. “...I… I did, yes.”

The Scale did not move. 

“And did you do so with the intention of robbing the tomb of its contents- the funerary treasures and/or the body of Pharaoh Nesbanebdjed?”

A pause. All eyes remained on the prisoner, save for his, which were fixed firmly on the floor in shame and defeat. 

“...Yes,” he whispered. 

Again, the Scale did not move. Shada’s otherwise stoic expression shifted ever so slightly into a frown, though not by much; It was, after all, a fact that had been of little doubt anyway. 

“Moving on. Were there goods in the tomb as you found it, or was it empty?” he continued his interrogation. 

“E-Empty, my lord,” the prisoner insisted. 

There was an audible intake of breath throughout the room as everyone watched the Scale expectantly- yet it still did not tilt. Now Shada was well and truly frowning, a puzzled expression on his face, along with Atem and several others. 

“Do you know who did empty the tomb?” Shada continued, voice dropping to a low, serious tone. 

The prisoner shook his head rapidly. “No, I-I don’t know anything, I swear.”

The Scale did not tilt, and the mystery deepened. “Do you know when the tomb was emptied, or where its contents may have been taken?” he asked, hoping to at least learn  _ something. _

“Like I said, I don’t know anything! All I know is the tomb was empty when I got there. I don’t know how it happened, I’m… I’m just as confused as you are- W-With all due respect, my lord,” the prisoner added hastily.

Shada gave a solemn, perplexed hum, and glanced towards Atem, who nodded in return. At that signal, Shada reluctantly lowered the Scale of Truth.

“This man is hereby judged guilty of the crime of attempted grave robbery of the tomb of former Pharaoh Nesbanebdjed, and his claims of the tomb being already empty found to be truthful,” Shada declared. 

“Take him away,” Atem ordered, even as the prisoner gasped in relief.

“See! I’m no liar!” the prisoner shouted with a hysterical laugh as the two guards half-led, half-dragged him out of the throne room. (A scribe standing to one side of the room recorded the event with an almost bored expression, completely unfazed by the now-condemned man’s behavior.)

Another tense silence fell over the room, unspoken expressions of concern, confusion, and frustration bouncing back and forth between the room’s occupants. It wasn’t quite that no one knew what to say; Instead, it felt like everyone knew what they  _ wanted _ to say, but weren’t sure if they should. 

“...Well. This certainly… raises some questions,” Siamun said awkwardly after a moment. 

“Indeed,” Shada agreed. “The fact that someone could do something like this…”

“I think we all know who that someone is,” Atem interjected in a grave tone. 

The priests exchanged nervous glances. 

“Do you… Do you mean to imply that the Thief King has returned, your majesty?” Akhenaden asked tentatively. 

Atem nodded. “That is exactly what I’m implying, yes.”

“With all due respect, Pharaoh, I don’t think that’s possible,” Seto interrupted. “Bakura is dead. You were there when the canyon collapsed, as we all were. There’s no way he could have survived that, and if he had, my intelligence network would have found him by now,” he insisted. “Your majesty, you are the only person in this room who genuinely believes that the Thief K ing is still alive.”

“Seto! Know your place!” Akhenaden gasped angrily, with several others nodding in agreement.

“No, it’s alright,” Atem assured them. “It’s good to have an alternate perspective. If my judgment is ever lacking, I would rather be called out on it than put the kingdom at risk. However…” Atem narrowed his eyes. “What, may I ask, do  _ you _ think think the explanation is, Seto?” he questioned, suddenly speaking in a more curt, almost hostile tone. 

“...To be frank, I think the guards aren’t doing their jobs,” Seto answered, prompting the others to gasp in shock at this bold accusation. 

“Might I remind you that the security of the royal tombs falls under my jurisdiction?” Mahaad reminded Seto, a slight threatening edge to his voice. 

“I am well aware,” Seto replied simply. 

“Then do you doubt my loyalty to the Pharaoh, and the royal family?”

Seto shrugged, his expression nonchalant. “Not necessarily, but I might be inclined to doubt the loyalty of your men,” he decided. “Loyalty can be bought, Mahaad, and there’s plenty of riches to be found within the tombs.”

“Why, you…”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Seto,” Isis interrupted, the first she’d spoken throughout the conversation. “I know how seriously you take your duties, Mahaad, and I know you love the royal family deeply. But the Pharaoh has asked me several times now to attempt to locate Bakura with my Divine Necklace, and each time I’ve seen nothing. I firmly believe that Bakura is dead.”

Atem sighed. “I know, but the fact of the matter is that someone, somehow was able to break into one of the royal tombs and completely empty it of its contents without being caught. How many people do you think can pull that off?” he argued. “Bakura isn’t called the Thief King for no reason. Nothing like what he does has been seen in millennia. I find it incredibly hard to believe that someone equally skilled would just coincidentally happen to come along immediately after Bakura’s supposed death.”

“I agree. And that’s why I say the most obvious explanation here is that the guards are being paid off,” Seto reiterated.

“And how do we know  _ you’re _ not being paid off to keep quiet about the Thief King?” Karim countered, glaring at Seto with suspicious eyes.

Seto smirked somewhat tauntingly, looking almost as if he were inviting Karim to challenge him. “Are you sure you want to make such an accusation,  _ Priest _ Karim?” he said, sarcastically emphasizing the man’s title. “Have you forgotten that I am of royal blood? Or do you really mean to suggest that I would betray both my cousin and my forefathers?”

“And are you implying that I am being paid off as well, brother?” Isis added with a slight growl.

“Alright, settle down, you three. This is no time for family drama,” Siamun interrupted, though it didn’t appear that anyone was listening. 

“No, Isis, what I’m saying is-”

“Bloodlines are hardly relevant here. Seto, I watched you push Pharaoh Atem into the Nile on at least four separate occasions,” Mahaad pointed out.

“That’s even less relevant!” Akhenaden butted in. 

Seto rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes, Mahaad, because the way I played as a child is  _ completely _ comparable to how I-”

“Enough!” Atem interrupted suddenly, his voice reverberating through the room like a slap to the face as he stood up abruptly.

Everyone immediately went silent, frozen in place, turning their attention towards Atem with guilty, nervous looks that were met by burning sharp eyes. 

“This is absurd,” he growled. “Listen to yourselves! We have a serious problem here, and instead of addressing it, you all start pointing fingers at each other? This is supposed to be a government, not a nursery!” he snapped, glaring at each of the priests in turn. 

Siamun, though silent, nodded in slow, chiding agreement by Atem’s side. The priests shuffled around awkwardly, looking embarrassed.

Seto huffed slightly, muttering under his breath. “I  _ was _ trying to solve the problem, but  _ somebody-” _

“Not another word, Seto,” Atem warned him, voice clipped and biting. “Court is adjourned. You all may speak to me when you’re ready to behave like  _ adults.” _

With that, Atem turned on his heel and stormed off, not bothering to look back even for a second.

* * *

Atem’s deep purple cape cut through the air and billowed behind him as he stomped through the halls of the palace, like a shadow brought to life, waving angrily as if daring anyone to try getting close to him. Handfuls of frightened servants, guards, and officials quickly scurried out of his way as he passed by, like startled mice fleeing from a cat; Atem paid them little mind, marching straight onward down a path he knew by heart. He only stopped when he reached a certain doorway, and knocked on the door, waiting rather impatiently for a response.

“Come in.”

Atem pushed the door open and stomped into the bedroom beyond it, where a girl sat on the floor, writing on a piece of broken pottery. She looked up in surprise as Atem entered.

“Oh! Hello, Pharaoh, what’s- Uhhh, is something wrong? You seem kind of… tense,” she observed with a confused frown.

Atem opened his mouth, almost shouted out everything at once, thought the better of it, bit his lip, took a deep breath, and willed himself to be calm.

“...I’m surrounded by idiots, Mana. Please play senet with me so I don’t murder someone,” he muttered stiffly.

Mana raised both eyebrows and stared at Atem for a few seconds, surprised by this answer. “Oh, well… Alright then,” she said confusedly, putting her writing down on the floor.

Mana followed Atem along the familiar path to the courtyard where they liked to play, listening patiently to him recount the events in the throne room, continuing his rant even as they sat down and began playing. Scenery changed from the brick walls of the residential wing of the palace to the colorfully painted columns and sunny blue pools of the open courtyard, people of all sorts came and went, and all the while Atem grumbled away, making animated gestures and faces as he spoke with far more honesty than he would to most people. Mana, in return, interjected with honest statements of agreement and sympathy, even knowing that few people could ever get away with making certain comments about certain members of the court.

“...And then of course Seto couldn’t just leave it at that. ‘Well  _ I _ was trying to help’- No, you weren’t,” Atem recounted with an exaggerated, sarcastic impression of Seto, before crossing his arms and scowling in irritation. 

“Well, that’s Seto for you,” Mana commented with a shrug as she moved one of her playing pieces several spaces across the board. “He always has to have the last word, or he’ll, I dunno, die I guess.”

Atem sighed. “I know… I had assumed he would grow out of it by now, but evidently not,” he grumbled. “That kind of attitude has  _ no _ place in court affairs, and he should know that. I expected better of him- And the others, too,” he added bitterly. “And to think that  _ I’m _ the ‘child’ here. It’s absurd.”

Mana gave a thoughtful, sympathetic hum, not really sure what to say, and passed the dice to Atem.

Atem, too, had run out of things to say, and sighed again, wordlessly rolling the dice and making his move. 

“Hey, speaking of Seto… We haven’t really messed with him in some time,” Mana said hesitantly, a slight hint of mischief in her voice. “I’ve been thinking, we should scare him by pretending to be ghosts! You know, hide in some big pots like we used to, talk in scary voices, move some stuff around with magic… Can you imagine the look on his face?” she teased.

Atem laughed. “That sounds fun, but I’m sure grandpa would kill me if I did that now. It would be ‘improper’ or something, I guess,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “Being Pharaoh means no fun allowed- Ah, not the water hazard again!” he exclaimed as he moved his game piece, looking at the dice as if they’d betrayed his trust.

“Again? That’s the third time in a row,” Mana said with a frown.

“That… can’t be a good sign,” Atem realized worriedly. 

Atem and Mana exchanged nervous glances, staring at the board in anxious contemplation, feeling a slight sense of dread.

“...Maybe we should stop playing,” Mana suggested quietly after a moment.

Atem shook his head. “Absolutely not. If… If senet represents life and death, then quitting halfway through sounds like an even worse omen,” he pointed out. “And besides, you’re winning right now and there’s no way in hell I’m forfeiting to you,” he added, tossing her the dice.

Mana rolled her eyes slightly, and took her turn.

“You know, for what it’s worth… I agree with you. About Bakura, I mean,” she said as she rolled.

“Hmm?” 

“I know it would be strange for him to still be alive after that canyon collapse, but… I don’t think it  _ could _ be anyone else,” she explained. “I’ve met some of the soldiers who guard the tombs, and I trust them- And I know master Mahaad wouldn’t accept anyone who isn’t totally loyal,” she pointed out. “It just seems unlikely to me that someone could have been paid off so easily. Plus, master has his own magic protecting the tomb, too; You know how skilled he is, could you imagine anyone managing to get past that? It has to be the Thief King,” she insisted animatedly, with a firm nod.

“My thoughts exactly,” Atem muttered. “Thank you, though. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one to arrive at such a conclusion… Even if it is a grim one,” he added in a serious tone. “At least I’m not losing sleep over nothing. Your turn.”

The game continued in silence for a few turns, each player wordlessly passing the dice back and forth as they moved their pieces ever closer to the goal, contemplating both the game and the events at hand. Atem sighed, trying his best to relax- he knew he needed to- but found himself unable to stop thinking about Bakura, and the petty bickering between his officers.

His  _ friends, _ his trusted allies, the people who were supposed to help him run a damn country… People he looked up to, many of whom had been serving as members of the court since his father’s reign, and had far more experience than Atem did. And here they were, arguing and ganging up on each other like fools at a time when-

...Ok, yeah, Atem  _ really _ needed to try to take his mind off the subject.

“So, um... On a different note… How has your training been going?” Atem asked Mana tentatively. 

“Fine, although it’s not really as fun without you,” Mana admitted, sounding disappointed.

Atem gave her a sympathetic look, somewhere between an affectionate smile and a disheartened frown. “I know… I miss when I could study with you and Mahaad full time. But I guess there’s nothing to be done about it,” he sighed.

Mana nodded. “Master doesn’t seem too worried about it, though. He thinks really highly of your abilities, you know,” she told him. “He’s said once or twice that he thinks you’ll be an even greater sorcerer than he is, someday.”

“O-Oh, I doubt that,” Atem replied quickly, laughing slightly looking a bit flustered. “I can’t imagine anyone being better than master Mahaad… And besides, you’re better than I am, I think. You’re so much more hard working than I am,” he pointed out.

Mana shook her head in disbelief. “Me? Really? No way! I can’t even master a simple binding spell,” she muttered as she rolled the dice.

“Hmm?”

“You know that one spell for holding people in place so they can’t move? I can never seem to do it right,” Mana confessed, head drooping slightly in shame. “I’ve been trying for over a week now, but I still can’t seem to get it right… It’s really frustrating.”

“Oh, that one… I think visualization is the key to that one,” Atem suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“When I learned that spell, I tried to imagine ropes tying up the target,” Atem explained. “It’s a  _ binding  _ spell, not a paralysis spell, so I think the key is really picturing that.”

Mana paused thoughtfully, pondering this idea as she passed the dice to Atem. “Hmm… You know, I’ve never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it, that actually-”

Mana didn’t get to finish her sentence, as the sunny, quiet tranquility of the courtyard was suddenly interrupted by the sound of desperate running footsteps, stomping through the hall and into the courtyard as if running away from something. Atem and Mana both stopped, turning in alarm towards the source of the footsteps.

“Pharaoh! Pharaoh, come quickly! Pha-” a frightened-looking guard shouted, running out of breath as he practically tripped into the courtyard. “Q-Quickly, in- In the throne room- It’s Bakura!” he gasped in exclamation.

Atem and Mana exchanged shocked, horrified expressions for just a brief moment, and then wasted no time in bolting towards the doorway, knocking the game pieces over in their haste, not slowing down for even a second.

* * *

Atem’s heart raced even faster than his legs as he ran through the halls of the palace, barely even slowing down to turn corners, with Mana not far behind him. He felt a dread so strong it had practically turned to guilt, knowing that he had been right about Bakura being alive-

But he had never- 

Why would Bakura come to the  _ palace?  _ What was he doing? Why had that poor guard seemed so terrified? Whatever was going on, it couldn’t be good, and Atem prayed that no one was too hurt as he ran as fast as he could.

Too late.

Blood stained the floors of the throne room, painting a gruesome trail from the lifeless bodies of several guards to where Bakura stood; His rough, scarred face and wild hair bore a stark contrast to the rich robes and adornments that covered his body as if they’d been thrown there, and his posture radiated smug confidence as he faced the court. The faces of the members of the court, on the other hand, varied from nervous and angry to shocked and afraid, all tensed for a fight- Or more accurately, the continuation of a fight, it seemed; Shada and Isis both winced and gripped their injuries, while Akhenaden peered down another corridor, shouting orders for anyone within earshot to tend to the wounded. 

This was the scene that greeted Atem as he ran into the room, prompting everyone to gasp and turn their attention towards him- Some with expressions of relief, others of concern, and one with a sinister grin.

“Ah, so the Pipsqueak King finally decides to show his wretched face! And I see you brought your girlfriend as well,” Bakura commented as he turned towards Atem. “How nice of you to join us, your majesty. Your babysitters have been worried sick,” he taunted with a smirk.

“Bakura! How dare you invade this sacred palace, you rotting leech?!” Atem snarled. “I don’t know how the hell you survived that canyon collapse, but you’re going to wish you hadn’t!”

“Mana! Pharaoh Atem! Get out of here!” Mahaad shouted pleadingly- though, unsurprisingly, neither obeyed.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Bakura said, obnoxiously nonchalant. “Now then, my dearest Pharaoh and Royal Groupies… You will step down from the throne, and crown me as the new Pharaoh of all Upper and Lower Egypt.”

“Like hell he will!” Mana shouted, a sentiment echoed by the others in the room.

“Never!”

“How dare you?!”

“Over my dead body!”

“Oh, that wasn’t a request. It was a statement of fact,” Bakura said coldly. “Although, speaking of dead bodies…”

Atem’s eyes widened in horror as Bakura raised his arm, holding up a rope tied to- Tied to-

“When was the last time you spoke with your father, Pharaoh? He’s been simply  _ dying _ to see you.”

...Atem couldn’t breathe. His heart seemed to dissolve through his stomach, he felt like he was going to throw up, his vision seemed to tunnel and go red, he was shaking with so much… Emotions too strong to even name, fear and anger and fear and heartbreak and anger and sadness and anger and fear and rage and hurt and fear and anger and and and and that was his  _ father. His father. _

Stolen from his tomb, dragged around by the neck like a rejected doll. 

“Pharaoh, please, stay back! He’s dangerous!” a voice shouted as Atem walked forward, though he couldn’t tell whose voice it was, because that wasn’t important;  _ Nothing  _ was important right now. The world around him had become a distorted, muted blur as his brain only registered one thing.

Atem couldn’t even hear Bakura’s taunt as he walked towards him, legs like red hot iron weights, and pushed Bakura as hard as he could away from the mummy that lay on the ground, stripped of its outermost layer of wrappings. 

“Father…” Atem whispered softly, barely even a breath, as he knelt down.

His father, Pharaoh Akhenamkanon… The man Atem had always looked up to more than anyone in the world; The man who had raised him with so much love and gentleness and sincerity, who had told him every day how proud of him he was, all while young Atem had smiled up at him and promised to be just like him someday; The kindest person Atem had ever known, a great leader who loved his country and his people dearly, who had ruled it with far more care and patience and kindness than Atem knew he would ever be able to; His father, the king with a heart softer than a flower, who had been so kind and hated so much to see others suffer that he had always suffered too, so vulnerable was he to slipping too far into guilt.

Atem’s sweet, gentle, dearly beloved father, who had died in such a prolonged and awful way that Atem could only pray he would be free in death. And yet, even in death, he suffered… Atem lifted the mummy carefully and cradled it to his chest more gently than he had ever touched anything in his life, wishing he could undo all of it. He still felt his father’s warmth, a comforting feeling in the face of everything.

...Wait.  _ Warmth? _

“Pharaoh… Pharaoh! ... _ Atem!  _ Get away from there,  _ now!” _

Mahaad’s voice brought reality suddenly crashing back into Atem, like water rushing to fill a void, so fast it almost hurt- but not fast enough. Atem had yet to fully process what was going on when the body in his arms suddenly sat bolt upright, faster than he could react, wrapping a hand around Atem’s neck with rapid, jerky, unnatural motions. Bakura laughed a cruel, broken laugh as Atem struggled, and all Atem could think was that this must have been a nightmare come to life.

“Ha! How do you like that, Pharaoh? You think you’re the only one with a talent for sorcery?” Bakura taunted. “All those months I was in hiding, I trained… That canyon collapse opened up a hidden cave, a cache full of forbidden texts, and I studied every last one of them! I’ve mastered spells that cowardly wizard dog of yours would never dare teach you!” he declared, once again laughing, mad with power.

“Bakura, you monster!” Isis shouted angrily.

Bakura snorted in disbelief. “Oh, _ I’m _ the monster? At least I’m honest about my crimes!” he snarled.

Atem couldn’t keep up with the argument that continued behind him, too busy struggling to breathe, and to break free from the choke hold. His heartbeat thundered loudly in his ears as he fought as hard as he could to get away- but the mummy’s grip was like a crocodile’s jaw, and Atem was weak with oxygen deprivation and disoriented with fear and horror. Just as he thought for sure it was all over, the hand suddenly fell away.

Atem gasped, and scrambled backwards away from the mummy, standing up as soon as he was able. As his vision cleared, he saw his father’s mummy enveloped in black flames; Looking to his side, he saw Mahaad, holding up his staff with a firm hand- Yet looking away, eyes closed and face contorted with heartbreak. Mana, too, stood off to the side behind him, watching with wide, fearful eyes.

“Forgive me,” Mahaad whispered softly, as the mummy writhed within the flames.

Siamun bowed his head in sorrow. “Oh, Pharaoh Akhenamkanon… My dear son-in-law… To think that you would return to the palace like this…” he trailed off as he lost his words.

“It’s alright,” Atem assured the others quietly, even as he struggled to catch his breath. “That…  _ thing  _ is not my father. My father would never hurt me. It’s nothing more than a soulless puppet,” he insisted, voice trembling.

Bakura sneered in disgust. “Look at you all… Reduced to such pathetic states over one miserable, rotting corpse,” he spat. “Do you know how many corpses _ I’ve _ seen, Pharaoh? How many family members I’ve had to  _ bury _ with my own hands, all because of that wretched jackal you call a father-”

Bakura didn’t get to finish his speech, as he was suddenly tackled to the ground, gasping as the air was knocked from his chest.

“I’ll kill you!” Atem snarled as he drew back his fist.

Bakura’s eyes widened in surprise, and he just barely managed to move his head to the side in time to avoid a direct hit- though he still winced slightly as one of Atem’s rings grazed the side of his cheek, scraping the skin enough to draw blood.

“Damn it! Get off me, you snot-nosed little brat!” he shouted, struggling to escape Atem’s grip, striking back at the same time. The two of them wrestled for a few seconds, exchanging several blows before Bakura finally managed to gain the upper hand, throwing Atem off of him and into a nearby pillar.

As Atem recovered, Karim and Seto both moved as if to go after Bakura- But paused as Akhenaden suddenly put out his arm, wordlessly signaling them to stand down. 

Karim and Seto exchanged surprised, slightly concerned glances, watching as Akhenaden stepped forward and slowly picked up a sword dropped by one of the slain guards, then stood up to face Bakura.

“Bakura. You have violated the palace, taken innocent lives, attacked my comrades… And you have insulted my nephew and desecrated my brother’s body,” he said with a firm, solemn tone, casting one last grim glance at the charred remains of the mummy behind Bakura.

He raised his sword.

“For these insults, I challenge you to a duel, one on one before the gods,” he proclaimed, staring unwaveringly and expectantly at Bakura with an expression of quiet rage.

Bakura rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for you, old man,” he grumbled, crossing his arms-

Akhenaden held up a hand, and before anyone could blink, between his fingers was the dagger no one had even seen Bakura throw.

“Either face me with honor, or leave in shame. Your thieves’ tricks won’t work against me,” Akhenaden warned. 

Bakura’s eyes widened for a brief moment, and then his expression grew darker. “You’ll regret that challenge, you wrinkled old rat,” he replied with a sneer.

The occupants of the room stepped back into a nervous, tense ring, knowing better than to interfere. Instead, Atem, Mana, Siamun, and all the others simply watched, occasionally gasping in shock or cheering in victory as Bakura and Akhenaden’s duel commenced.

Within the middle of the room, the two figures soon became a fierce, fast-moving blur of white, red, and brown, their movements further obscured by blindingly bright flashing glints of bronze. Each warrior went at each other with full power, both forces to be reckoned with: Akhenaden, with his years of experience, masterful training, and bitter anger born from familial love; Bakura, with his youthful power, vengeful fury, and the tough, dirty fighting learned out of necessity from a harsh life on the streets.

And yet, as the battle went on, a clear imbalance began to appear. While Akhenaden remained just as calm, focused, and precise, Bakura gradually grew increasingly angrier; His movements became faster, fiercer, and more frequent, yet also sloppier and more hasty, striking again and again out of frustration.

Every single blow Bakura dealt, Akhenaden calmly parried or dodged, striking back whenever the opportunity presented itself. Even when Bakura tried to get the jump on him by feinting, or even pulling a dagger from his robe, Akhenaden countered without a problem.

“Damn it! How the hell are you this good at avoiding me, old man?!” Bakura gasped, as he narrowly dodged a blow himself.

Akhenaden scoffed, avoiding the question just as he avoided Bakura’s attacks. “You were a fool to underestimate me, thief.”

Bakura gave no response other than an angry snarl, yet continued his assault, though his pace grew a bit slower as he tried to analyze Akhenaden’s movements. After a moment, something seemed to click; Bakura’s expression became wide with sudden understanding, and then dark with disgust as he finally realized what was going on.

“I get it now… It’s that damn false eye of yours,” he guessed. “It’s enchanted, isn’t it? You cheating son of a bitch,” he growled in accusation.

“Is it really cheating to cheat a cheater?” Akhenaden answered calmly.

Bakura gave a slight amused snort. “No, I suppose not,” he agreed. “And on that note..!”Akhenaden’s eyes widened as he saw Bakura’s hand move; Saw it before anyone else did, before anyone else possibly could, before- And he knew that was what Bakura had been counting on, knew it was all just part of Bakura’s plan, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to just-

There was no time-

Akhenaden fell to the ground at Seto’s feet with a heavy thud and a shout of pain. Blood poured from his face, bubbling up around the knife that had embedded itself in his cheekbone, dripping down onto the hood of his robe and staining it a deep crimson.

“Lord Akhenaden!”

“Father!”

Bakura laughed, a sound that was all but drowned out by the horrified screams echoing through the room, as several people instinctively rushed to Akhenaden’s aid.

“God, you people are so  _ predictable!”  _ Bakura exclaimed, voice somewhere between a laugh and a sneer. “It doesn’t matter how strong you are, all I have to do is threaten one of your precious ‘friends’, and you’ll bend over backwards. Funny how you don’t seem to care as much about-”

“To hell with honor!” Seto interrupted Bakura’s sarcasm with an enraged yell, charging abruptly past the group huddled around his injured father and towards Bakura, axe in hand. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Atem growled, stepping forward to join Seto, holding a sword of his own.

And just like that, all hell broke loose. As Shada and Siamun hurriedly carried Akhenaden out of the throne room, the others began an all-out assault, targeting Bakura all at once, while he fought back with just as much strength and speed as before. 

Yet Bakura’s power just couldn’t hold up against the sheer strength of numbers, as he frantically tried to dodge axes, swords, fists, spears, fireballs… It was simply too much for one man to fight off alone. At first he kept up, striking back when possible, even throwing a few more knives, but it didn’t take long before he began to wear down and falter. Atem and his allies drove Bakura back, blocking off any means of escape; Just when it seemed they’d finally cornered him, Bakura muttered something under his breath, and suddenly vanished with a loud bang.

“He… He teleported?!” Mahaad exclaimed.

“Well then where the hell did he  _ go?” _ Seto wondered as the group collectively scanned the room with hurried, startled glances, standing on edge in anticipation of a potential surprise attack.

Karim turned towards Isis. “Sister, can you-”

“He’s going after the horses!” Isis gasped as her closed eyes snapped wide open, already way ahead of Karim’s suggestion.

No one wasted any time, taking off running towards the palace stables without even a word, rushing past startled servants and fallen guards alike.

“Damn it, we don’t have time to ready the chariots!” Karim growled as he ran, keeping pace with the group, just behind the long-legged Seto and Mahaad.

“We don’t have a choice,” Atem gasped from several cubits behind the others, “Unless you’d rather follow him on foot.”

Karim said nothing, but gave a quick, slightly embarrassed inclination of the head, as he and the others continued running.

They could hear the chaos in the stables before they saw it, the sounds of frightened horses and frantically shouting stablehands carrying across the way as they approached. The scene inside was just as hectic as it sounded, with several horses missing, and the others lashing out in fear as the stablehands tried to calm them down.

“Ph-Pharaoh! My lords!” the head of the stables shouted in hasty greeting, attempting an awkward half-bow even as he struggled to calm a panicked horse. “I am truly and deeply sorry for our failure!”

“It all happened so fast,” one of the less dazed stablehands chimed in. “He just appeared out of nowhere, and took off before we realized what was happening- N-Not that that’s any excuse, of course, your majesty,” he added quickly.

Atem shook his head. “I know. It’s alright, none of you are at fault,” he assured them. “But we have to move quickly. Get the calmest horses you can find, now,” he ordered. “Ready my chariot, and two others, if there are enough horses. Quickly!”

“Yes, your majesty!”

As the stablehands began prepping the chariots, the head of the stables turned towards the group. “Lord Seto,” he began, “I’m so sorry, but he took Irtyu-Irwy-Hedj-Sesmet.”

“What?! That bastard, he took my favorite horse!” Seto snapped, kicking over an empty bucket in anger. 

Meanwhile, Atem addressed the rest of the group.

“Karim, you should stay behind,” he said. “You won’t be of much use with that shoulder. You should tend to your wounds instead.”

Karim nodded, though he looked slightly reluctant. “Yes, Pharaoh Atem.”

“You stay behind too, Mana,” Mahaad added.

“What? Why?!” Mana exclaimed, a slightly hurt expression on her face. “Master, I can help! Let me come with you!”

Mahaad shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, and you’re inexperienced,” he explained.

“But-”

“No ‘buts’, Mana. Now is not the time to argue.”

“No, let her come,” Atem interrupted, as he watched the stablehands hitch the chariots. “We might need her help, and she’s hardly any more inexperienced than I am, anyway,” he pointed out.

Mahaad looked somewhat conflicted, a number of expressions crossing his face before he finally gave in. “Alright. But  _ don’t _ get into trouble,” he insisted. “Follow every order that is given to you, understand?”

Mana nodded quickly. “I promise, master!”

“Pharaoh! Your chariot is ready, your majesty!”

“This one’s ready too!”

Atem wasted no time in climbing aboard the shining electrum chariot, taking the reins with a firm hand.

“You two take the other chariot,” he ordered Mahaad and Mana. “Seto, Isis, you two go together when the third chariot is ready. I’m going after him alone.”

With that, he signaled his horses forward, not even sparing a second for the others to answer before racing out of the stable, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

* * *

When all was said and done, he’d have to commission a monument in honor of the horses pulling his chariot, Atem thought to himself; Considering they were simple leisure horses, not trained war horses, they were handling the situation surprisingly well. He recognized the white horse as Heru Nefer, one of his favorites, but didn’t know the name of the brown horse- he’d have to ask one of the stablehands later.

...Of course, there were far more pressing matters at hand than commemoration, as his chariot thundered through the busy city streets, startling confused civilians. (Atem couldn’t help but feel a pang of remorse as a fish merchant’s donkey just barely stopped in time to avoid getting hit, losing a basket in the process- but there was no time to apologize, as he sped past in only a second.) He forced himself to focus, ignoring the chaos around him out of necessity, and urged his horses to run faster.

But they couldn’t run fast enough.

“What’s wrong, Pharaoh? Can’t keep up, with that fancy chariot of yours?” Bakura shouted over the thundering of the horses’ hooves, turning his head back just enough for Atem to catch a glimpse of his crocodile grin. “How many people slaved away to pay for that chariot? And it still can’t even outrun a single stolen horse.”

Atem growled as Bakura laughed, a nasty sound that was fortunately mostly drowned out by the noise of the horses.

Bakura was right, Atem knew deep down; He’d foolishly taken off on his own, thinking that with himself as the sole passenger- he barely weighed more than 450 debens, after all- that his chariot would be fast enough to catch up to Bakura, but… He had been wrong. And now, without a second man to shoot while he drove, Atem was left completely useless, always just behind Bakura yet unable to get close. 

Something seemed off about Bakura’s horse, too. Atem had seen Irtyu-Irwy-Hedj-Sesmet in action before, and although she was a fairly fast horse, she was also temperamental, with few people able to control her other than Seto himself and a handful of the more experienced stablehands… Yet somehow she’d been eerily quiet and obedient throughout the chase, galloping steadily onward with no signs of rebellion. Not slowing down, not kicking, not turning around, not making even so much as a single whinny. That was concerning, to say the least. Was Bakura mind controlling the poor horse, or something?

...Of course, it wasn’t like it really made a difference, given that Atem wasn’t able to get close enough to do anything about it. He could only hope that-

Suddenly Bakura broke pace for the first time, horse stumbling slightly as an arrow suddenly flew out of a side street, just narrowly missing Bakura.

“Goddamn it! So you bastards finally caught up, huh?”

As they continued their chase, Atem turned his head towards the alley the arrow had emerged from, to be greeted with a most welcome sight: Another chariot, with Seto tightly gripping the reins, and Isis standing firm and tall with her bow poised at the ready.

“You better not hurt my horse,” Seto warned, as he urged their current pair horses to turn onto the main road.

“I’m doing my best,” Isis growled, nocking another arrow. “But you know what they say: If you want to shoot the general, you must first shoot his horse.”

Seto raised an eyebrow. _ “Who  _ says that?”

Isis didn’t bother answering as she fired another arrow, drawing back the bow string with the strength, stability, and fluidity of a master archer. She cursed under her breath at another narrow miss.

The chase continued at full speed, with the group soon joined by Mahaad and Mana on a third chariot- Not that it seemed to make much of a difference, as they still seemed unable to either catch up to or successfully hit Bakura. The more they attacked, the more convinced Atem became that Bakura’s stolen horse was undoubtedly under some sort of spell; Horse and rider moved with far, far too much coordination, effortlessly dodging attacks and making sudden turns. It was a level of unity that would be difficult to achieve even for the closest, gentlest horse and rider pair, let alone a loose cannon thief and a tempermental stolen horse.

For what seemed simultaneously like hours and yet no time at all, Atem and the others pursued Bakura relentlessly, startling passerby and clouding the streets with a thick wake of dust. Bakura seemed unfazed by how outnumbered he was, something that struck Atem as odd; Why was Bakura letting this chase continue for so long, and in such a straightforward manner? Why wasn’t he fighting back, or trying to lose them in narrow back alleys?

Atem frowned as Bakura continued towards the outskirts of the city, away from the Nile. Either he was trying to tire them out, or he was leading them into a trap.

Mahaad frowned slightly as Bakura changed course. “I think he’s leading us to Kru Erna,” he realized. 

“What’s Kru Erna?” Mana wondered.

“An abandoned slum. Nobody’s lived there in years, it’s nothing but a ghost town now,” Mahaad answered.

Atem gritted his teeth at this realization. “He must be planning to try to hide in the ruins.”

“Well he can’t hide from me,” Isis interrupted as she took aim once more. This time, her arrow just barely grazed Bakura’s arm, causing him to grunt in pain and falter ever so slightly.

But it was only for a second. Soon enough, Bakura was riding true once again, turning back to glare in distaste at Isis and the others before returning his attention to the road.

It wasn’t long before the abandoned town itself came into view- And then became the backdrop for the chase, empty mud-brick houses and overgrown desert weeds framing the narrow streets, the afternoon sun casting long patches of shadow. Bakura rode without hesitation, as if following a route he’d been down countless times, until he reached a certain street corner. 

Bakura vanished once again, just as abruptly as before. His horse collapsed to its knees. 

“Shit, he did it again!”

“Where’d he go?!”

_ “Irtyu-Irwy!” _

Seto leapt off the chariot before it had even stopped, nearly falling flat on his face as he ungracefully hurried to his horse, unconcerned with himself.

“Priorities, Seto!” Isis shouted at him, as she just barely managed to grab the reins without falling off.

“Shut up!” Seto snarled.

“Leave him be, there’s no time to argue,” Atem told Isis as he stopped his own chariot. “We have to-”

Atem paused mid-sentence, going dead silent as something caught his attention: He quickly identified it as footsteps and a grinding noise, coming from the north. 

“This way!” he gasped, taking off as quickly as he could without bothering to tether his horses.

The others shared surprised glances, knowing there was no time to waste. 

“Mana, stay here and help Seto with the horses! Catch up when you can!” Mahaad ordered as he and Isis ran after Atem, only barely catching a glimpse of his purple cape as it disappeared around a corner.

* * *

Atem ran as fast as he could, his rage spurring him to move at a startlingly high speed for someone so small. He didn’t bother waiting for the others to catch up, or even telling them where he was going. His mind had completely locked on to one objective, and one objective only: Follow the source of the noise, and catch Bakura before he could get away.

This brought him to small stone shrine in the center of town, old and abandoned, its pillars partially obscured by piles of sand collected in its neglect. He saw a flash of white hair as Bakura disappeared beneath a stairwell; A large **,** clearly displaced stone slab near the stairs showed the source of the noise Atem had heard, no doubt having been covering the stairs just moments earlier. Atem wasted no time in following Bakura down the stairs, with Mahaad and Isis not far behind him.

The group found themselves in a carved out underground chamber, fairly large in size, lit only by a torch at the back and the narrow shaft of light cast by the stairwell. Faded paintings on the walls identified the chamber as having once been a temple of Khonsu, yet the contents of the room- haphazardly piled collections of treasure, clothes, a bed, scrolls- made it clear that this sacred space was now being used as Bakura’s home base. 

Stolen, just like everything else.

“Welcome,” Bakura said with a devilish grin, reclining casually on top of a large stone slab towards the back of the room that had no doubt once been an altar. “This, my dear Pharaoh, is Kru Erna. Where you will die, just as its citizens did- Though I imagine  _ your  _ death will be swifter. Privileged as always,” he added, rolling his eyes.

“The only one who will be dying here is you,” Atem warned. “Things have changed, Bakura. No one is starving anymore. Your obsession with revenge is pointless and misguided,” he insisted.

Bakura frowned, a brief flash of irritation passing his face. But he made no retort, still relaxing on top of the altar as if he had not a care in the world. 

“You know, Pharaoh… For all you and your little groupies worry about your own deaths, always filling your tombs with piles of treasure so you can ‘have a comfortable afterlife’, or whatever-” Bakura spoke with heavy sarcasm, waving a hand in the air for emphasis- “You never do think of those who have died under your feet. After all, how could they ever hurt you?” he continued as Atem and the others approached. 

“What are you on about?” Atem muttered. Though he held his sword at the ready, he hung back slightly, hesitant to get close; He debated for a moment whether or not it was would be a good idea to attack, given Bakura’s suspiciously unguarded posture…

Whatever. There was a good chance that was what Bakura was hoping for, that it was all just a bluff, and Atem decided to bet on that possibility as he began running towards Bakura. Isis and Mahaad followed suit, weapons at the ready. 

Bakura grinned, and whispered something under his breath. 

Suddenly, something felt very wrong, setting off endless alarm bells in Atem’s head with an indescribable suffocating aura-

“Look out!”

Atem didn’t have time to react to Isis’ shout before something grabbed him from the side, latching onto his arm with a vice grip. He instantly whirled around, sword raised- And couldn’t help but scream in surprise as he found himself face-to-face with a corpse, its leathery, shrunken face filling his field of view like something out of a nightmare, shriveled lips and sunken-in eye sockets just a finger’s width from his own. 

He wasn’t the only one, either. Isis and Mahaad struggled against attackers of their own. Zombies that had previously been hidden within the shadows of the columns on either side of the room crawled and lurched towards them in droves, grabbing and clawing at them mindlessly.

It soon became clear that there was no room for respect for the dead if they wanted to stay alive themselves; The zombies fought relentlessly, and with neither minds to reason with nor fear of death or pain, the only way to stop them was to destroy their bodies enough to incapacitate them.

Unfortunately, between their brute strength and the sheer number of zombies, this was far easier said than done. All the while, Bakura stood on the altar in the back of the room, laughing as he watched the chaos.

Atem and the others quickly became overwhelmed, surrounded (quite literally!) on all sides by zombies, grabbing at them and pulling them every which way with their hardened, skeletal hands. The three fought back as hard as they could- But weapons were difficult to use when their arms were practically being torn from their bodies, and fire spells weren’t always practical in cramped quarters. It didn’t take long before the zombies claimed their first victim, as Isis gave a shriek of pain.

“Isis!” Atem yelled as he stomped down hard on a zombie’s foot, hoping to at least knock it over (easier to deal with if it couldn’t reach his arms, he thought).

“I-I… I think my shoulder’s- Ah..! -Think it’s dislocated,” Isis ground out through clenched teeth, still struggling against a number of zombies.

Atem began trying to reach her, slowed by the zombie that now clung to his ankle- But before he could, Mahaad summoned all of his strength to break free from the zombies’ clutches with one abrupt pull. He immediately ran over to Isis, shoving his way between her and the zombies in front of her.

“Pharaoh, please get down,” Mahaad shouted before raising his staff.

Atem quickly did as he was told, and not a moment too soon, as a wave of energy suddenly exploded from Mahaad’s staff with a thunderous boom. The whole temple shook as several zombies collapsed to the ground, a few even losing limbs.

Bakura snarled in anger. “Go ahead, destroy a zombie or two! There are plenty more where they came from!” he announced. “I’ve gathered  _ dozens _ of bodies, Pharaoh. None of you will be getting out of here alive!”

“You’re a monster, Bakura!” Atem shouted back.

The fight continued to progress in much the same way. Seto and Mana joined the others at some point- No one had quite heard them come in, too occupied with the zombies- And things escalated from there. The rest of the battle seemed too become a blur of fast-paced action, with no time for rest; Break free of one zombie, slash at another, turn around and hit the zombie attacking the closest ally, dodge a spell, get grabbed by another zombie, rinse and repeat.

But as the zombies’ numbers slowly began to dwindle, the fighting became easier, and Bakura seemed to grow nervous, glancing around as if looking for an escape route. For a brief, wonderful moment, it seemed that Atem and the others had victory firmly within their grasp. 

...Until a zombie slammed Mahaad into a pillar, knocking him unconscious. 

“Master!” Mana screamed. 

“Mahaad!”

It only took a few seconds for Mahaad to come to, but it was clear he was heavily dazed. As his allies rushed to his aid, Bakura saw his chance- But not before Atem saw Bakura’s move. 

Spotting an opening between the zombies, Atem dashed forward, cutting off Bakura’s escape route with an outstretched sword. Bakura gasped as he just barely avoided running into Atem’s blade, looking at him with an expression of shock and anger. 

“You’re  _ not _ getting away,” Atem growled.

“Then neither are you,” Bakura responded in kind, raising his own sword.

Neither Bakura nor Atem held back in the slightest as they exchanged blows, filling the room with sharp, amplified echoes of bronze against bronze. Bakura’s height was no challenge for Atem, who had spent his life training against much taller opponents; Bakura’s real advantage lay in his strength, as he hit relentlessly against Atem’s blade with full force.

This advantage soon proved to be the key to victory, as Atem’s sword suddenly snapped at the crossguard. Atem gave a slight shout of surprise as the blade flew away from hi-

_ Pain.  _

Indescribable, overwhelming, overwhelming, overwhel over ov ov ow hurts can’t hurts hurts hurts ow pain dying hurts bad stop  _ painpainpainouch  _ **_PAIN._ **

Atem felt frozen in place, unable to move or think as reality hit him. A weak, strangled gasp escaped his throat, the air pushed from his lungs against their will. 

“I told you you would die here,” Bakura whispered as he pulled away the knife, voice like the slow drip of poison. He held up the blade, as if to emphasize his point, and slowly, tauntingly licked the blood from the blade. 

Atem barely heard the screams around him as he struggled to breathe, struggled to regain the ability to think. He fell to his knees without even meaning to, his body at the complete mercy of nature; Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, but he couldn’t see nor care who it was, fighting for his overwhelmed to cling to his one goal: Bakura. Stop Bakura. Focus on Bakura.

“Pha- Atem! Atem, hang in there, please,” Seto pleaded as he held him close- Atem felt something press on his wound, making the edges of his vision pulse white with pain. It was strange, Atem thought; Seto always had such a stern, smug face, never showing a hint of weakness, but now he looked more afraid than anyone Atem had ever seen.

And then suddenly, he understood everything. 

He was dying, and he knew it. He knew everything. He knew how much time he had left, he knew who was where, knew what Bakura was planning… He knew what he could do, and what he  _ had _ to do. It had never been done before, and he only had one shot, but he had to take it. 

(Perhaps it was divine intervention, granting the son of Ra heavenly knowledge for his last living act.)

As Bakura made his way towards the edge of the room, trying to get away, Atem locked eyes with Mana- Hoping she would understand his unspoken message, knowing that he only had to save his breath. 

Mana was in tears, looking so terrified and heartbroken, and for a moment Atem feared that everything was over. But then Mana grit her teeth, swallowed, and gave a shaky nod. 

Atem couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride as Mana stared at Bakura, muttering under her breath, and suddenly Bakura froze in place. 

Bakura gasped, glancing from Atem to Seto to Mana in shock and anger. “You..! What did you… Release me, witch!” he shrieked. 

“Do it now, Pharaoh!” Mana yelled, ignoring the others’ confused and sorted looks, as Bakura struggled against the invisible binds.

Atem took a deep breath- And  _ god,  _ did it hurt, like being stabbed all over again. He could feel himself slipping, everything growing distant and hazy as the blanket of death suffocated him, but he couldn’t go yet, and he fought with all his might to stay awake. 

He whispered the words he’d strung together, and felt the surge of magic mingle with the pain.

Bakura’s eyes widened in shock, glancing down at himself as his body began to feel strange. “What is this?! What are you doing to me?!” he demanded, struggling further. 

Mana grimaced in concentration, Atem pushes against death yet again, and the ornate gold pendant hanging around Bakura’s neck began to glow. 

“Stop it! You can’t do this to me, you brat!” Bakura shouted, growing more and more panicked, the light glowing brighter and brighter. “You can’t do this to me, you- you-”

Bakura’s body began to fade away. Atem took another pained, shuddering breath, ignoring Seto’s pleas to stay still.

“For your crimes, I condemn you… To an endless eternity on earth… Bakura.”

The necklace clattered to the ground. 

The last thing Atem heard as he slipped away into sleep was his friends calling his name, and then everything went dark. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can imagine, there are a LOT of historical notes for this chapter. Have fun.
> 
> 1\. Nesbanebdjed is a real pharaoh, and the first of the 21st dynasty. He’s better known by his Greek name, Smendes.
> 
> 2\. Mana is writing on an ostracon, aka a broken piece of stone or pottery (the latter, in this case). Because they were smaller and cheaper than papyri or other mediums, ostraca were frequently used in ancient Egypt for informal writings or art such as notes, letters, practice writing or drawing for students, or even things like medical prescriptions or architectural sketches. Whether Mana’s diligently doing her homework, or writing spicy court gossip in her diary… I’ll leave that up to you.
> 
> 3\. Weapons in ancient Egypt (at least, in relevant time periods) were generally made of either copper or bronze. Among other things, small battle axes like the one Seto uses were quite common, as were daggers and spears, and chariot archery was a core part of Egyptian warfare. Swords, on the other hand… While they did certainly exist, they had a rather glaring weakness in that they were riveted to the handle (as opposed to being cast as one piece), which means that if hit with enough force… Yep, the blade would snap right off. Khopeshes were cast as one piece and thus didn’t have this problem, but ironically they were only used for a relatively short period of history, having gone out of use by the 19th dynasty for reasons I’m not sure of. Btw, khopeshes were NOT for beheading your opponent- Can you imagine the fucking logistics of a maneuver like that? Ridiculous. They were for hooking your opponents’ weapons, and the inside of the hook wasn’t even sharp! But now I’m getting off topic…
> 
> 4\. Chariots! Chariots were one of ancient Egypt’s greatest engineering feats, although they didn’t invent them (they got the idea from the Hyksos, who seem to have gotten it from the Indo-Iranians, I think..?), just improved on the concept. Ancient Egyptians actually didn’t typically ride horseback, despite what Takahashi seems to think, because they hadn’t invented proper saddles yet.   
> Chariots were light and fast, pulled by two horses, and could hold two or three passengers. Egyptian armies generally included ranks of chariot teams consisting of a driver and archer, to rain arrows on their enemies. And yes, a good archer can shoot surprisingly accurately even while riding a chariot, because they had some kickass suspension. If you’re interested, there’s a really PBS documentary called “Building Pharaoh’s Chariot”, which I highly recommend! It’s on YouTube, so check it out! And yes, I did give Atem an electrum chariot, because Thutmose III had one and as we all know Atem is cooler than Thutmose, so I see no reason why he can’t have one.
> 
> 5\. The horse names are mostly historically accurate, although I took some liberties with transliteration for the sake of ease of reading. One is a real known horse name that was common in ancient Egypt, one is… Fictional, but real middle Egyptian (or at least my best attempt at it, Egyptologists please be nice to me I tried my best). Unfortunately, AO3’s formatting would probably kill me instantly if I tried to use hieroglyphs, so all I can do is give you the codes for Gardiner’s sign list: Heru Nefer is O4 N5 Z1 F35, and Irtyu-Irwy-Hedj-Sesmet is M17 D4 G4 D4 D4 T3 I10 N5 O34 O34 G14 X1 E6. Again, if I messed something up I’m sorry, please no Egyptologists murder me in my sleep, I’m an art major at a community college and I still haven’t even learned all my kanji so please be nice to me.
> 
> 6\. Debens were a measure of weight used in ancient Egypt. One deben was equal to about 91 grams. Canonically, all three Yugis weigh 42 kg (92 lbs).  
> 7\. Although I personally prefer Kul Elna, I went with the romanization “Kru Erna” instead, for two reasons: 1. There is no L sound in the ancient Egyptian language, and 2. “Kur Erna” sounds stupid. (I did briefly consider just using Deir el-Medina/Set Maat, given the parallels with Kul Elna, but then I remembered it’s nowhere near Tanis so that would be geographically impossible, lmao.)
> 
> 8\. Khonsu is a moon god, associated with healing, protection, and safe travels at night. Along with his parents Amun and Mut, Khonsu was considered one of the three patron gods of both Thebes and Tanis. And yes, he is the same Khonsu from Moon Knight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bakura-kun, is that a G.H.O. (Genuine Hasbro Ouija)?  
> Hope you guys enjoyed the brief historical fiction horror zombie interlude last chapter. This chapter is a bit less exciting, but it does include some dialogue I've been looking forward to writing since the early days of this AU, so have fun!

_ Present Day.  _

Yuugi sat in quiet shock, a jarring lack of words making the room feel suddenly unsettling. 

A number of questions crossed Yuugi’s mind as Atem finished his tale- Why did Bakura hate him so much? How had he learned those spells? What happened to the others?- Yet he found himself unable to voice any of them; None of them seemed to matter compared to the here and now, watching Atem tremble and hide his face and try for all the world to hide his crying. 

What a terrible thing it was, Yuugi thought, for someone his own age to be burdened with such responsibility. (Even now, seeing how hard Atem tried, Yuugi couldn’t help but wonder how much of his personality was an act, a habitual poker face built up from years of being taught to behave with a certain dignity.)

What a terrible thing it was to be king.

_ “I’m sorry,”  _ Atem whispered after a moment.  _ “I- It’s just- It’s a little hard to… to talk about,”  _ he stammered apologetically. 

Yuugi shook his head. “No, it’s alright. You don’t need to apologize,” he assured Atem. “It’s ok to cry, you know.”

Atem nodded shakily, and said no more. 

Whether Atem had taken Yuugi’s advice to heart, or simply no longer had the strength to hold back, Yuugi couldn’t tell… Either way, it pained his heart to know that wounds from so long ago could still be so raw. As Yuugi watched the poor boy cry, he found himself desperately wishing he knew how to comfort him; Had it been anyone else, his first instinct would have been to hold them close in a hug, but how do you hug a friend who can’t be touched? 

Yuugi thought it over for a moment, and- not really knowing what else to do- moved to sit directly in front of Atem, where he’d be able to see him clearly, and waved to get his attention. 

Atem eventually glanced up, and watched Yuugi confusedly for a moment before hesitantly waving back, looking uncertain. 

Yuugi smiled widely, and gave a thumbs-up. 

_ “...What is that.” _

“Hm? What’s what?” Yuugi questioned. 

_ “That- um- That… thing you’re doing. With your hand,”  _ Atem clarified, sniffling slightly. 

“Oh, it’s a thumbs up!” Yuugi answered cheerfully. “It means, ‘good,’ or, ‘everything is ok,’” he explained. “Why don’t you try?”

Atem continued to watch Yuugi uncertainly for a few seconds, before slowly, hesitantly holding up his own hand and closing it into a fist. He tentatively uncurled the thumb, and looked to Yuugi for approval.

Yuugi laughed slightly. “Almost. Turn it like this, so it’s facing up,” he corrected Atem, twisting his own wrist in demonstration. 

Atem mimicked Yuugi’s pose, and gave another questioning glance. Yuugi smiled brightly once again. 

“There you go! See? Everything’s ok,” he repeated.

_ “...Everything’s… ok,”  _ Atem said slowly under his breath, as if trying out the phrase, staring curiously at the strange new gesture.

Yuugi nodded enthusiastically. “Yup, everything’s ok,” he said yet again. “I’m sorry those things happened to you, and it’s understandable that it’s upsetting to think about. But what’s important to remember is that it’s over, right? You’re safe now,” he assured Atem gently. “No one can hurt you anymore. Bakura’s gone. You never have to go through that ever again.”

Atem thought this over quietly for a moment, before giving a resolute nod.  _ “I… Y-Yeah. You’re right. Thank you,”  _ he said sincerely.  _ “I’ll… try to remember that.” _

“Feeling better now?” Yuugi asked. 

Atem nodded.  _ “I think so. Thank you.” _

“Good!” Yuugi replied with a smile. “So, about Bakura-kun at school- Oh, um, is it ok if we talk about that? If you’d rather drop the subject, that’s ok too,” he added quickly. 

_ “It’s fine, go ahead,”  _ Atem assured him, though he still looked slightly tense. 

“Alright… Well… I totally get why you freaked out, but I think you might be jumping to conclusions a little bit,” Yuugi began very hesitantly, speaking slowly and taking care with his words and tone, almost tiptoeing around them to avoid offending or upsetting Atem. “I mean, you said you sealed Bakura the thief into the necklace, right? And there’s no way to break the spell?”

_ “Correct,”  _ Atem confirmed. 

“Right, so then, how could he be at my school? I don’t want to sound dismissive or anything, but I think it’s probably just a coincidence. After all, in three thousand years it’s not surprising that two people might have the same name,” Yuugi pointed out.

Atem lowered his gaze and went quiet for an unexpectedly long time, to the point that Yuugi became slightly nervous, fearing that he must have said the wrong thing. Until finally, Atem gave a deep, slow sigh, and looked back up again. 

_ “You’re probably right… And I want to say you are, but… I don’t know,”  _ Atem muttered, biting his lip.  _ “It’s strange… It’s like he looks like Bakura, but also doesn’t. His hair is almost the same, and he’s about the same height… But he’s way paler, and his face is different. So is his voice, and the way that he carries himself. Realistically they hardly resemble each other at all, but… I don’t know, it’s like… Somehow every time I look at him, I just see  _ **_him,_ ** _ even though it doesn’t make sense,” _ Atem confessed, shaking his head and frowning with an almost fearful look.

“I’m sorry,” Yuugi said softly, not knowing what else to do. 

Atem sighed once again.  _ “I just… I just don’t know if I should trust my intuition, or if I’m just being paranoid. On one hand I feel like you’re right, and I probably am just being unnecessarily judgemental… But I can’t help but feel like if I let my guard down, there’s a chance something will happen, and you or the others might get hurt,”  _ he admitted worriedly.

Yuugi gave a thoughtful, almost melancholy hum. “That’s understandable. I don’t think there’s anything to do other than just wait and see, though.”

_ “Yeah, I know,”  _ Atem agreed, sighing slightly. 

“We’ll see Bakura-kun again tomorrow- I mean, I’m assuming, anyway- So why don’t you try to give him a chance, at least?” Yuugi suggested gently. “And I promise I won’t ignore your feelings like that ever again. I’m sorry I did. If something doesn’t seem right to you, I promise I’ll listen this time,” he insisted, taking a more serious tone. 

_ “Thank you,”  _ Atem replied.  _ “I guess you’re right. I’ll, um… I’ll try to… Give him a chance, I suppose,”  _ he muttered, still looking a little uncertain.

“I’m glad to hear it. I hope everything works out,” Yuugi added with an optimistic smile. 

Atem nodded.  _ “Thanks, Yuugi. And, um… I’m sorry for all of this,”  _ he apologized quietly. 

“It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re feeling better,” Yuugi assured him. “Thanks for being willing to talk it out.”

_ “Thank you for listening,”  _ Atem replied sincerely.

Yuugi grinned and gave another thumbs up. “No problem! I should probably go to sleep now, though,” he admitted. “Will you be ok?”

_ “Of course,”  _ Atem answered, nodding and returning the thumbs up gesture with a reassuring smile.  _ “Get some sleep, Yuugi.” _

Yuugi cast one last glance back at Atem before climbing into bed. (As his head hit the pillow, it suddenly became obvious just  _ how _ tired he actually was, and he yawned reflexively.)

“Goodnight, Atem.”

_ “Goodnight. Sleep well.” _

* * *

There was a definite nervous tension in the air as class began the next day, much as Yuugi and Atem may have tried to pretend otherwise. Anzu had wisely chosen not to mention the previous day’s incident as the three of them walked to school- though she had certainly seemed to regard Atem with a bit of awkward uncertainty- but the elephant in the room could not go unaddressed forever.

“Dude, what was with the Pharaoh’s weird tantrum yesterday?!” Honda exclaimed in a half-whisper just before class, glancing around as if worried about being overheard (yet not doing an especially great job of keeping quiet). “You freaked me out, man! What’s your problem?!”

“Honda! Shut up!” Jounouchi hissed, glancing nervously at Atem, afraid of his reaction. 

A quick flash of anger passed across Atem’s face, as if he were going to yell at Honda- but he quickly regained his composure, crossing his arms and scowling instead.

_ “I did  _ **_not_ ** _ throw a tantrum,”  _ he insisted. 

Yuugi and Honda gave Atem sarcastic looks. 

Atem huffed slightly.  _ “Alright, fine, I’ll admit that my behavior yesterday was… A bit out of line,”  _ he gave in.  _ “The way I acted was unacceptable, and I’m sorry.” _

“Thank you for apologizing,” Anzu said gently. 

_ “...But it still wasn’t a tantrum. Only little kids throw tantrums.  _ **_I_ ** _ am  _ **_not_ ** _ a child.” _

Anzu and Honda rolled their eyes. 

“Whatever, dude. What  _ was _ that about, though? What do you have against Bakura?” Honda continued. 

Atem paused uncomfortably before answering, grimacing slightly and biting his lip. 

_ “He… reminds me of someone I, uh… Don’t get along with, let’s put it that way,”  _ he mumbled reluctantly, almost stuttering a little.  _ “I sort of… reacted on instinct, without really thinking things through. It won’t happen again,”  _ he promised.

“Eh, I can understand that,” Jounouchi decided with a shrug. “It’s like how every time I see Kaiba, I want to punch him in the face.”

_ “Who?”  _ Atem asked confusedly. 

“Oh, he’s this guy in our class who-”

“Um… Good morning!”

The group collectively jumped slightly at the sudden interruption, though it was a soft-spoken one.

“Geez, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Jounouchi exclaimed, putting a hand over his heart. 

“Oh, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle anyone,” Bakura apologized quickly, shaking his head and waving his hands for emphasis. 

“Good morning, Bakura-kun,” Anzu said politely. 

“Good morning!” Yuugi chimed in. 

“Morning, Bakura.”

(Yuugi glanced over to find Atem still looking on edge, like a startled cat, and shot him a quick reassuring glance and a subtle thumbs up; Atem hesitated for a moment before giving a nod of conviction, and mirroring the gesture.)

“Um, hey… I want to show you guys something,” Bakura began hesitantly. 

“What is it?” Anzu asked. 

Bakura gave a small, sheepish smile, and placed something on Yuugi’s desk: A small figurine. 

“I know you guys play D&D, so… I thought you might like to see this,” Bakura explained, still looking a bit shy.

Yuugi picked up the figurine, turning it around in his hand as he examined it; It appeared to be an white-haired elf- seemingly a wizard, judging by its white robes and the staff it held in one hand. The figurine itself was undeniably endearing, with a simplified, roundish, cartoony body, and a gentle smile matched by big, child-like eyes. 

“This is really cute! Is this your character, Bakura-kun?” Yuugi guessed as he looked the figurine over once more, with Atem staring curiously from over his shoulder. 

Bakura nodded. “Mm-hmm! He’s a wizard, although I guess that’s kind of obvious,” he added with a slight laugh. 

“Ooh, can I see?” Anzu requested. 

Yuugi nodded, and passed the figurine to Anzu, who examined it for herself. 

“Hey, this is a pretty nice mini! And it’s so cute, too!” she commented cheerfully. “Where’d you get this?”

“I made it, actually.”

This simple statement seemed to almost be too much for the others to handle, as they all simultaneously burst into expressions of shock and awe. 

“No way! You  _ made _ this?! It looks so good!”

“Hey, give it here, I wanna see!”

“It looks way better than factory-made figures!”

“That’s so cool!”

Bakura blushed and laughed slightly, putting a hand on the back of his neck. “Aw, thanks! I’m glad you guys like it,” he said sincerely. 

“How’d you make it?” Yuugi wondered. 

“It’s made of polymer clay,” Bakura answered, watching as Jounouchi and Honda fought over whose turn it was to look at the figurine. “There’s a little bit of tin foil inside to give it some structure, and then the base is just one I bought at a hobby shop.”

“What’s polymer clay?” Jounouchi asked. 

“It’s a type of synthetic sculpture material. It comes in different colors, which you can mix to make new ones, and you can bake it in a regular oven instead of needing a kiln,” Bakura explained. “Oh, I also painted some of the details,” he added as a side note.

“That’s really cool, Bakura-kun,” Yuugi repeated once again, genuinely impressed. 

“Thanks! I like to make custom minis for my campaigns. It makes them feel more personal, I think,” Bakura said thoughtfully.

“At Yuugi’s house we just use legos,” Jounouchi commented.

“Legos?”

Yuugi nodded. “Yeah, I decided to use legos for maps because you can customize them, and it gives an easy built-in grid,” he explained. “I wasn’t sure how it’d go at first, but so far it’s worked out great!”

“Wow, that’s a pretty good idea,” Bakura realized.

“Yeah, but sometimes it winds up being really funny because of the pieces,” Jounouchi laughed. “Like, the Pharaoh’s got a pipe for a khopesh, it’s ridiculous.”

“‘The Pharaoh’?” Bakura repeated in confusion. “There’s a pharaoh in your party?”

Jounouchi clasped a hand to his mouth as he realized what he’d said, prompting the group- including Atem- to share wide-eyed, nervous glances. 

“Uhhh, right, there sure is!” Yuugi announced, deciding to take the reins of the conversation. “Yup, uh, elf wizard pharaoh. Great character.”

_ “Half-elf wizard, since  _ **_somebody_ ** _ wouldn’t let me be an elf,”  _ Atem reminded Yuugi, rolling his eyes. 

“Right, half-elf, sorry,” Yuugi corrected himself. 

“Ooh, that’s a really interesting concept! I assume he’s your character, Jounouchi-kun?” Bakura guessed. 

“Oh, nah, I play a knight. He’s a fighter,” Jounouchi replied casually. 

“My character’s a fighter too!” Honda chimed in. “He’s a cowboy! And then Anzu’s got like, an elf wizard chick.”

“Guys!” Yuugi hissed quietly as they made the situation worse. Anzu put a hand on her forehead in exasperation.

“Who plays the pharaoh, then?” Bakura wondered. 

“Uh…”

“Y-Yuugi’s twin brother!” Jounouchi blurted out abruptly. 

Yuugi gave Jounouchi a look somewhere between horrified and confused. 

_ “What the hell, Jounouchi-kun?!”  _ Atem exclaimed.  _ “Of all the things to say, why that?!” _

“Wow, you have a twin?” Bakura gasped.

(Jounouchi shrugged and shook his head rapidly, frowning and giving Atem an I-don’t-know-either-please-help-me look.)

“Uhhh, he goes to a different school,” Yuugi quickly lied; He could feel a rapidly growing sense of impending doom.

“What’s it like being a twin? I’ve always wondered about that,” Bakura said curiously. 

Atem put his head on the desk and groaned.  _ “This is a mess,”  _ he muttered. 

Yuugi glanced around frantically, trying to come up with a believable response to Bakura’s question. “Uh-”

Before he could answer, the classroom door opened, and students began hurrying back to their seats. Yuugi sighed a breath of relief as the teacher entered the room, ending all conversations. 

“Alright, good morning, class…”

* * *

Atem wandered around the classroom anxiously as the morning continued, glancing back at Bakura every now and then. Despite Bakura’s relatively benign behavior so far, and despite repeating to himself their conclusion from the night before (It was almost certainly a coincidence, he didn’t even look like Bakura, Bakura was gone, he was just overreacting-), he still found himself feeling tense and irritated, too much so to sit down.

At some point, Yuugi fell asleep at his desk, exhausted by the emotional late night; Atem took up a watchful position on the floor beside him, as if afraid someone might try to hurt Yuugi while he slept- Though logically, he knew the likelihood of this happening, especially in the middle of the classroom, was next to none. Still, he didn’t leave Yuugi’s side for even a moment, staying protectively close even as he fidgeted.

“Psst. Hey,” Jounouchi whispered quietly, while most of the class was distracted. “Hey, Pharaoh,” he whispered a little louder after Atem didn’t seem to hear him. 

_ “Yes?” _ Atem responded, turning towards Jounouchi questioningly.

“Are you ok?” Jounouchi asked, still whispering. 

Atem frowned slightly, and glanced worriedly back at Yuugi before standing up, walking over to Jounouchi’s desk. 

_ “Sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you,”  _ he admitted. (Even as he spoke to Jounouchi, he still kept his gaze on Yuugi, as if afraid to let him out of his sight.)

“You ok, bro?” Jounouchi repeated. 

_ “I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the teacher?”  _ Atem pointed out- Not even certain if he meant it sincerely, or was just trying to deflect the conversation. 

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah, I stopped understanding any of it like, five minutes ago,” he replied dismissively. “Anyway, are you sure you’re ok? You seem kinda tense, and you’ve been acting super weird all-”

“Jounouchi-kun!” the teacher interrupted, causing both Jounouchi and Atem to jump in surprise. “Stop talking to yourself and pay attention. Your grades are awful enough as it is.”

“U-Uh, yes, sensei,” Jounouchi answered hastily. He shot a quick apologetic glance towards Atem before turning his gaze back to the blackboard. 

Atem looked back and forth from Yuugi to Jounouchi to the teacher (as well as a quick glance at Bakura, though he would never admit it), before sighing slightly.  _ “...I’ll explain later,”  _ he promised.  _ “Good luck with your weird triangle math.” _

“Thanks,” Jounouchi managed to whisper quickly as Atem drifted back over to Yuugi.

(Anzu sent Atem a questioning glance, to which he replied only with a shrug. 

He quietly settled back down onto the floor, resting his elbows on Yuugi’s desk and sighing as he resigned himself to a melancholy sentry.)

* * *

_ “You’re all terrible friends,”  _ Atem announced, shaking his head in disbelief as he leaned against a nearby desk with arms crossed, watching Yuugi.

Lunch period had arrived, yet Yuugi continued to sleep like a rock, snoring lightly with his face flat against his desk. His friends were very careful not to wake him up… As they attempted to stack as many trading cards as they possibly could on top of his near-horizontal upper back.

“You don’t think he’ll be mad when he wakes up, do you?” Bakura questioned as he carefully, carefully added the next card. 

“Naaaah,” Jounouchi replied with a casual, dismissive hand wave. 

“I mean, think of all the other things we could be doing to him right now,” Honda pointed out. “At least we’re not drawing on his face!”

“Or French braiding his hair,” Anzu added.

_ “That last part actually sounds fun,”  _ Atem said thoughtfully.  _ “Although admittedly not something you should do to someone who’s sleeping.” _

Just as Honda was about to add another card, Yuugi took a deep breath- causing all but a few of the cards to fall to the floor, fluttering around the room in a wide spread, creating a gust of air and a quiet  _ fwsssh-clack  _ noise. The group gathered around Yuugi’s desk gave various gasps, groans, and shouts of disappointment. 

“Aww, geez, they’re all over the place!” Jounouchi exclaimed, scrambling to pick up the loose cards. 

_ “I don’t know what you expected, really,”  _ Atem replied, glancing down in amusement at a card that had settled halfway inside of his foot, as Yuugi slowly began to stir. 

“Mmph… wha… huh? Mm… How long was I-” Yuugi paused in the middle of his slurred sentence, interrupted by a yawn. “-How long was I asleep?”

“All through trigonometry and halfway through lunch, bro,” Jounouchi informed him. 

“Aw, man…”

Yuugi sighed and stretched out slightly. He then suddenly noticed the cards all over the floor and desk, staring at them in confusion. “Um..?”

_ “Your friends decided it would be fun to stack Duel Monsters cards on top of you while you were sleeping,”  _ Atem explained helpfully to Yuugi, not without a hint of dry humor, as the other four tried to gather the loose cards.

Yuugi shook his head in disbelief as he reached inside the desk for his lunch. “Really, now…”

Meanwhile, the others continued hurriedly trying to clean up their mess before class started, but found this task to be… A bit easier said than done. There were several dozen cards, and the sheer distance some of them had managed to drift to made it difficult to tidy them all up, even with four people working together. 

“Geez, this is a mess,” Anzu sighed as she reached under a desk for a card. “Guess we really learned our lesson, huh…”

_ “Here, let me help,”  _ Atem offered. With a bit of concentration, he levitated a handful of cards into the air, and onto Yuugi’s desk in a neat stack. 

...Forgetting, of course, that people were watching. 

“Um… Is it just me, or… Did those cards just pick themselves up?” Bakura wondered, with a startled look on his face, blinking several times as if to make sure the cards were really there. 

“Uhh, nope, must have been your imagination! Everyone knows cards can’t levitate, I mean, duh,” Jounouchi lied hastily. 

“Or maybe… It was the g-g-g-ghoooost,” Honda teased, waving his hands and sticking his tongue out for emphasis.

Atem smirked and gave an innocent shrug.  _ “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” _

“Honda! Shut up!” Jounouchi hissed.

“Yeah, Honda,” Anzu began, with a sarcastic, mischievous tone. “After all,  _ everyone _ knows Jounouchi’s terrified of ghosts.”

Honda, Yuugi, and Atem all couldn’t help but burst out laughing, as Jounouchi blushed bright red. 

“I… I am  _ not!”  _ he spluttered. 

“Suuure you’re not,” Honda replied.

Bakura laughed quietly, and gave Jounouchi a gentle, sympathetic look. “Come on, guys. I’m sure it was a nice ghost,” he decided. “After all, it helped us clean up, right?”

“I think you’re right,” Yuugi agreed with a knowing smile.

“Eh, nice ghosts are a myth,” Honda decided flatly, shrugging as he instantly killed the mood. 

Atem’s expression fell in a fraction of a second, shooting a glare at Honda.  _ “Keep it up and you’ll prove yourself right,”  _ he said in an ominous mutter.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s true at all!” Bakura insisted, shaking his head. “I personally believe that ghosts sometimes visit people they knew in life, so… um… Maybe the ghost was a friend,” he finished with a shy smile. 

The others went quiet, surprised by Bakura’s sudden conviction about the subject, especially when they’d only been joking. After a moment, Bakura began to fidget nervously, a worried look on his face. 

“Aw, I just made things weird, didn’t I? I’m sorry,” he sighed, averting his gaze towards the floor. 

Yuugi shook his head. “No, not at all! I think it’s a nice sentiment,” he assured Bakura. 

Bakura gave a slight nervous laugh. “Yeah, I guess it just makes me feel better about things, I dunno. A-And I’m kinda interested in paranormal stuff, so… Yeah,” he finished awkwardly. 

“I think it’s a nice idea too,” Anzu agreed gently. 

_ “And he’s not wrong,”  _ Atem admitted, still leaning against the desk with arms crossed.  _ “Although nobody I know’s done it in centuries, because… I mean, everyone’s already dead anyway,”  _ he added with a shrug. 

(Though his posture was still a bit defensive, his expression still slightly wary, there was something a little… Different about the way he looked at Bakura now. Less hostile, perhaps, and a little more... Sympathetic.)

“Alright, class, back to your seats,” the teacher called out. 

Yuugi hastily shoveled one last mouthful of rice before putting his lunch away, as the others returned to their desks and Atem sat back down on the floor, the whole room resetting like clockwork. 

* * *

The next few days at school were a bit calmer. Atem’s attitude towards Bakura steadily relaxed; It was clear that he was a sweet boy, if a bit odd, and it was hard to dislike him. Bakura, meanwhile, became fast friends with Yuugi and the others. Yuugi in particular enjoyed talking to him, having found that they had quite a few shared interests- Although, true to his word, Yuugi remained very careful of Atem’s feelings (...and did occasionally have to try to keep up the lie that he had a twin brother). And of course, Atem did, eventually, with a little bit of reluctance and a little bit of encouragement, explain to the others why he was initially so wary of Bakura.

(“I always kinda figured you didn’t talk about it ‘cause you died doing something super embarrassing, like maybe you fell down the stairs and hit your head,” Jounouchi had said, surprised to hear that Atem’s untimely death had been a deliberate murder. 

“That’s what I thought, too,” Yuugi admitted in response. 

“I just assumed you died of like, the plague or something,” was Honda’s theory. 

“I’m not sure they had the plague in ancient Egypt,” Anzu pointed out.

“Yeah they did, they got it ten times.”

“Jounouchi, that’s not-”)

As the days went by, Bakura’s presence in the group became gradually more accepted. They learned that Bakura was interested in tabletop RPGs, model building, trading card games, all types of fantasy stories and video games, history, and… Ironically, ghosts and the occult. 

At first, Bakura’s interest in the paranormal made Atem incredibly suspicious, as was understandable given the circumstances. But over time, it became more of a source of amusement to him; Although some things were true, many of Bakura’s ideas were inaccurate, if not completely made up, and his zealousness was… Interesting, to put it one way. He seemed convinced that ghosts were simply all over the place, or could be summoned at will- Although admittedly Atem did find it slightly concerning when Bakura showed interest in summoning other types of spirits, but so far nothing had happened, not even when Bakura tried to use some sort of “ritual board” (or whatever he called it) for spelling out messages from spirits. 

The main issue, really, was that Bakura not only assumed that a relatively unremarkable high school would be haunted for some reason, but also that whatever was supposedly doing the haunting would he willing to talk to him. The only ghost at Domino High was Atem himself, who could have communicated with Bakura in any number of ways if he wanted to, but he didn’t.

...At least, for a while, anyway.

“Hey guys, I want to show you something,” Bakura said one day, after classes had ended.

The others exchanged questioning glances; Whenever Bakura said he “wanted to show them something”, it could mean anything from a new action figure to a supposedly cursed artifact. 

“What is it?” Anzu asked.

Bakura reached into his bag, and pulled out a small, rectangular device with a speaker on it, not unlike a voice recorder or a pocket radio. 

“What’s that, a new Walkman?” Jounouchi wondered, staring curiously at the device. 

“It can’t be a Walkman, there’s nowhere to put the tape in,” Anzu pointed out. 

Bakura shook his head. “Nope, not a Walkman. It’s called a spirit box. My dad got it for me,” he announced. 

_ “It looks like a regular box to me,”  _ Atem said flatly.

“‘Spirit box’?” Honda repeated, raising an eyebrow. 

“Mhm! It’s for communicating with ghosts,” Bakura replied. “It picks up on energies from ghosts, and converts them into speech using digital voice technology,” he explained excitedly. “I haven’t tried it out yet, though.”

Atem gave an amused snort.  _ “Please, now that’s just silly. There’s no way something like that would work.” _

“...No. way. something. like. that. would. work,” a robotic voice droned the moment Bakura switched the spirit box on.

The group collectively screamed in surprise. 

“Ah,” the robot voice deadpanned. 

_ “Wh-What the hell?! That’s so creepy!”  _ Atem shrieked, hovering off the ground like a startled cat frozen in mid-air, as the spirit box continued to dutifully repeat Atem’s every word almost instantly (albeit speaking rather slowly).

“Wah. what. the. hell. that’s. so. creepy.”

_ “Oh, god, I hate it. Turn it off, that’s  _ **_so_ ** _ messed up,”  _ Atem insisted, shaking his head at the spirit box. 

Bakura, meanwhile, had gone twice as pale as usual, looking unsure if he was overjoyed or terrified.

“Guys…. Guys, we found a real ghost! The spirit box works! There’s really, really a real ghost!” he gasped breathlessly. 

“Yup, I know,” Yuugi replied flatly, almost sarcastically, looking unimpressed and resisting the urge to sigh. 

Bakura laughed giddily, and then cleared his throat, trying to be calm. “O-Ok, ok, um… Uh, hello, spirit,” he began in a serious tone, though there was still a clear nervous, excited quiver to his voice. “We mean you no harm. Please don’t be afraid of the spirit box, it’s here to help us hear you,” he explained to the empty air. 

_ “Well it  _ **_sounds_ ** _ like a possessed crocodile- No, stop that,”  _ Atem commanded, pointing in accusation at the spirit box.  _ “Stop copying me, you creepy voice. I hate you.  _ **_I ORDER YOU TO CEASE YOUR HORRIBLE DRONING, OR ELSE._ ** _ ” _

“Stop. copying. me. you. creepy. voice.”

As the others shared looks of shock, confusion, and nervousness, Atem suddenly seemed to get an idea. 

_ “Ooh, listen to me, I’m a stupid box and I don’t know what humans sound like,”  _ he said in a mocking tone, smirking as he waited for the spirit box to repeat him. 

“...Don’t. know. what. humans. sound. like. I. don’t. even. know. where. sentences. end. and. begin. ha. ha. ha. ha. ha. ha.”

Yuugi shot Atem a scolding look. “Stop bullying the spirit box. You’re so mean.”

_ “But it’s fun,”  _ Atem replied with a grin.  _ “Also, it deserves it.” _

“Um, ex... Uh, e-excuse me,” Bakura interrupted hesitantly. 

“...Also. it. deserves. it.”

“U-Um, uh, spirit? Can you tell us your name? And why you’re here?” Bakura asked, a little louder this time. 

Anzu rolled her eyes. “Oh, for god’s sake! Can’t we just tell him already?!” she exclaimed. 

“I guess we might as well, at this point,” Yuugi sighed. “Atem?”

_ “Go ahead, if it means I don’t have to hear this awful voice anymore,”  _ Atem confirmed with a nod, still glaring at the spirit box.

“Tell me what?” Bakura questioned, and then his eyes widened as he realized the implications. “Wait, do you guys…  _ know _ the ghost?”

Yuugi nodded. “Yeah, it’s a long story… Here, touch this,” he said, holding the Millennium Puzzle out towards Bakura. 

Bakura did so- And jumped slightly as he saw Atem. 

Atem sighed and gave a half-hearted wave.  _ “Hi, I’m Atem, pharaoh of all Egypt blah blah yadda yadda nice to meet you now can you  _ **_please_ ** _ turn that thing off before I  _ **_throw it out the goddamn window,”_ ** he finished, speaking increasingly loudly and quickly in an attempt to overpower the electronic voice. 

“...out. the. god. damn. window.”

Bakura made a dive for the spirit box, just a split second after the classroom lights began flickering in time with Atem’s enraged growl. He quickly switched the spirit box off and shoved it unceremoniously into his bag.

Atem continued to glare ominously for a moment, the shadows in the room looking unsettlingly larger than usual, but he soon relaxed. Several of the others sighed in relief.

“I think maybe you should start your introduction over,” Yuugi suggested gently.

Atem nodded.  _ “You’re right,” _ he admitted, and turned towards Bakura with a softer look on his face.

_ “My name is Pharaoh Atem of the twenty-first dynasty of the throne of Egypt, son of Pharaoh Akhenamkanon, king of Upper and Lower Egypt,”  _ he counted off his titles on his fingers.  _ “Divine son of Ra, Beloved of the Two Ladies, He for Whom the Shadows Dance, King of Games. And yes, I play a half-elf wizard in Dungeons & Dragons,”  _ he finished, with a slight playful smile.

Bakura blinked, looking slightly stunned by the introduction.

“Everybody just calls him Pharaoh,” Anzu added helpfully, hoping to reassure Bakura.

Bakura took a breath, as if waking up from his shock. “Oh… Well, um, nice to meet you… Pharaoh,” he said with a shy wave.

…Atem narrowed his eyes at Bakura.

_ “On second thought, why don’t you guys call me by my name,”  _ he decided tersely.

Honda raised an eyebrow. “The whole thing, or just the first part?”

“Yeah, please don’t make us do that whole Jugemu Jugemu thing every time, bro,” Jounouchi added, cringing slightly at the thought.

_ “Just call me Atem,”  _ Atem reassured them.

Bakura watched Atem with curious eyes as the conversation continued, taking in every detail of his appearance, from his translucent tan skin to his bright red eyes to his tight-fitted black top, pleated gold overskirt, long purple cape, and multitude of colorful, heavy-looking jewelry. He looked through Atem, to the room behind him, and then back to the way Atem seemed completely unaffected by the lighting despite the way his jewelry sparkled. Even without the strange, extravagant clothes, it was more than clear that Atem was not of the earthly realm.

**_“STOP STARING AT ME, MORTAL.”_ **

Bakura practically jumped, looking like he’d just been caught sneaking out. “Oh, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude,” he apologized quickly.

“Hey, enough with the whole ‘mortals’ thing already,” Honda interrupted.  _ “You’re _ the one who’s dead, not us.”

Atem raised an eyebrow.  _ “That can be remedied.” _

“Atem, do you remember that whole talk we had last month? About death threats?”

_ “Hey, Honda started it!” _

“Um… Excuse me?” Bakura began hesitantly. “Could I say something?”

“Of course you can,” Anzu assured him. She gave the others a pointed look, silently telling them to knock it off.

Bakura looked to Atem for confirmation, and was met with a nod in response.

Bakura took a deep breath, fidgeting nervously. “Ok… well… um… I’ve never met a real ghost in person before,” he began. “Um, I hope this isn’t weird to say, but I think it’s cool that being a ghost gives you red eyes.”

_ “Oh, my eyes have always been this color,” _ Atem replied casually, shrugging.

“Wait, what?!” Yuugi and Jounouchi exclaimed in unison, with the others looking just as shocked.

“Is that like, a medical condition or something?” Anzu wondered in surprise.

Atem nodded.  _ “Yes. When I was born, the royal physician diagnosed me with Cool Guy Syndrome.” _

“It has a 100% fatality rate,” Honda added with a grin.

Atem nodded once again.  _ “Yes, it’s- Honda, one of these days I  _ **_will_ ** _ kill you,”  _ he insisted as he realized the implications of Honda’s comment. (Honda simply laughed.)

“I don’t get it, though. What’s a pharaoh doing here?” Bakura continued, frowning thoughtfully. “Shouldn’t you be haunting… Your tomb, or something?”

_ “...Ideally, I wouldn’t be haunting anything,”  _ Atem sighed.  _ “That big pendant Yuugi always wears? It’s called the Millennium Puzzle, and it actually belongs to me,”  _ he explained.  _ “It’s… something that’s very precious to me, and as you can see, it was stolen from my tomb. Which interfered with my afterlife. And now I’m stuck here,”  _ he finished quietly, looking far more somber than he’d been just moments ago.

“I-I’m not actually the one who stole it, in case that wasn’t obvious,” Yuugi pointed out quickly.

_ “Right. Yuugi here has graciously agreed to help return the Puzzle to my tomb,”  _ Atem added.  _ “But until he can save up enough money to go to Egypt, I’ll be here.” _

“Wow… I’m really sorry that happened to you, that’s terrible,” Bakura said quietly. “I hope you can go home and have a peaceful afterlife soon.”

Atem smiled, just the slightest bit.  _ “Thank you.” _

“...In the meantime, though,” Jounouchi interrupted- Speaking loudly, as if to dispel the sadness in the air- “We’re happy to have you as our friend! And I think you owe me a duel,” he added with a grin.

Atem’s face suddenly lit up with a bright-eyed, unusually innocent smile, like a child receiving a compliment for the first time.  _ “O-Oh! Thank you, I’m glad to be friends too,”  _ he replied sincerely.  _ “Although, I think we should probably save that duel for tomorrow.” _

“Oh yeah, I guess it is kinda- Oh my god, we were supposed to leave like, fifteen minutes ago,” Jounouchi realized with a quiet gasp, glancing around at the relatively empty room as if he’d only just noticed it.

“Aw, shoot, you’re right! I’m gonna be late!” Yuugi exclaimed, practically falling out of his chair in his rush to get up. 

Atem could only watch, slightly stunned, as Yuugi grabbed his bag and started hurrying towards the door, with the others mostly following suit.

“See you guys tomorrow!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Historical notes:
> 
> 1\. Yep, it's a thing in ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs that the dead can in fact visit the living at any time, so long as it's during the day. I actually wasn't aware of this until a friend of mine who's a kemeticist pointed it out (thanks, Dodec!), but it, uh... Really changes some stuff, huh...
> 
> 2\. You might notice the description of Atem's outfit is a little different from canon. His canon design, while lovely, isn't super historically accurate, so I did a redesign a while back, based on some 21st dynasty tomb paintings, that's a bit closer to what might have actually been worn at the time (albeit keeping a few of the more iconic anachronisms, because tbh I really dig the purple cape). You can see the full design [here](https://i.imgur.com/QpcRNOH.png). Please don't mind the bad art, it's really just to get the outfit down on paper...
> 
> Also, as a side note, I hope I didn't offend anyone with Bakura's character! My intention was not at all to be dismissive of people who do believe in ghosts and stuff like that. I'm a second-generation pagan witch (I'm eclectic, to be specific) and I have had encounters with ghosts and... other things, so I get it. What I was trying to convey with Bakura is more of a McWiccan-esque type of person, you know, a well-meaning but horribly misinformed occultist. Like, the kind of person who would watch Ghost Adventures 100% unironically rather than to laugh at their terrible decisions. As Atem mentioned, Bakura's believes actually aren't totally wrong within the context of this fic, just like... Mostly wrong, lmao.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit late, but I hope everyone had a good Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week?  
> Also, thank you to everyone who leaves nice comments! I forget to reply a lot, but I appreciate all of them nonetheless. I'm going to try to be better about replying, lmao.

_ “Yuugi. Yuugi, wake up. Hey.  _ **_Hey._ ** _ Yuugi.” _

“Mmphghh?”

Yuugi awoke to the feeling of something cold pushing against his shoulder, and the distant, slow-to-process knowledge that someone was calling his name. He slowly, blearily opened his eyes- And jumped at the sight of two angular, blood-red eyes staring at him from out of the darkness, mere centimeters from his face. 

_ “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” _ Atem whispered as he stopped shaking Yuugi’s shoulder.  _ “There’s something really weird going on.” _

Yuugi groaned and sat up slightly, rubbing his eyes and glancing at the clock. (It took several seconds before “4:39” became numbers with meanings and not just unintelligible symbols.)

“Nngh… Wha..?” he muttered, still too asleep for proper speech. 

_ “Come look at this, it’s really bizarre,”  _ Atem said with wide eyes.

He gestured to the window, where a strange and mysterious substance was slowly beginning to pile up at the bottom of the window frame and around the edges of the panes, like glittering white sand. It continued to fall gently from above, the tiny grains either joining the piles at the bottom, or melting away into nothingness.

_ “What the hell  _ **_is_ ** _ that..?” _ Atem wondered in awe. 

Yuugi yawned, and rubbed his eyes a bit more. “Oh… It’s snowing,” he muttered, just slightly more awake. “Cool.”

**_“Snow?_ ** _ Like, in Mario Kart?”  _ Atem questioned, looking uncertain. 

“Mhm,” Yuugi mumbled in response. “Just like in Mario Kart.”

**_“Snow is real?!”_ **

Yuugi blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst, frowning confusedly as Atem stared at him with wide-eyes, slack-jawed astonishment.

“Yeah..? Why wouldn’t it be?”

_ “I don’t know, I just assumed it was made up! You know, like Yoshi, or penguins,”  _ Atem answered.  _ “I mean, doesn’t it totally sound fake?” _

Yuugi raised an eyebrow at the penguin comment, but decided to leave that be. “No, snow is real,” he repeated.

_ “Huh,”  _ Atem said curiously, putting his hands on his hips and staring at the snow with a thoughtful expression. 

For a moment, there was silence as they watched the snow fall. 

_ “...It sure is pretty,”  _ Atem commented more quietly after a few seconds, still staring out the window. 

“Yeah,” Yuugi agreed, a soft, sleepy smile on his face. 

The two stayed like that for a while, simply watching out the window in silence, transfixed by the serene stillness of snow in the dead of night. No voices chattering, no cars driving by, no bright lights, no worries; Just snowflakes, twinkling as they fell, illuminated in soft shades of blue and gold by the moon and the distant streetlights below. 

Atem didn’t say a word when Yuugi quietly went back to bed, still watching the softly falling snow.

* * *

_ “So this is what snow looks like from the ground…” _

Atem stared curiously at the sidewalk as he followed Yuugi out of the house, mesmerized by the glittering white blanket that covered the ground. Yuugi, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed, barely paying any mind even as snow collected on his hair and the sides of his thick-soled black boots.

“Good morning, Anzu,” he said, just as always. 

“Hey guys,” Anzu greeted in response, waving cheerfully with mittened hands. “...Good morning, Atem,” she added a little more clearly after Atem failed to respond the first time, staring in awe up at the sky as if he hadn’t even heard her. 

_ “Oh! Good morning, Anzu,”  _ Atem said politely, blinking himself out of his trance.  _ “I’m sorry, I was distracted. How are you?” _

“I noticed,” Anzu replied, the corner of her lip quirking upwards in an amused smile. “I’m good, thanks. I’m guessing this is your first time seeing snow?”

_ “Uh-huh,”  _ Atem answered with a nod, holding out his hands and watching in fascination as the snow fell through them.

“He woke me up in the middle of the night because he didn’t know what it was,” Yuugi told Anzu, nodding towards Atem. “Apparently, he thought snow was made up and only existed in video games.”

Anzu burst into a fit of giggles at this concept, laughing so hard and so uncontrollably that it was all she could do to keep walking, struggling to breathe through her amusement. Even Yuugi couldn’t help but laugh a little bit as well, infected by Anzu’s contagious giggling. 

_ “Hey! Don’t laugh! How was I supposed to know?!”  _ Atem exclaimed, huffing in irritation.  _ “We never had anything like it in Egypt.”  _

It took a few minutes before Anzu managed to stop laughing, but nonetheless, she eventually wiped her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. “Doesn’t it snow in Lebanon, though? I’m sure you must have heard of it before,” she pointed out, still involuntarily snickering a bit. 

_ “Where?”  _ Atem replied confusedly. 

“It’s a bit northeast of Egypt, um… I think maybe the Phoenicians lived there? It has a lot of mountains and stuff,” Anzu recalled. 

_ “Oh, them… I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been there,”  _ Atem admitted with a shrug.  _ “Didn’t really live long enough to do much traveling, to be honest.” _

“Fair enough, I guess.”

The three continued to walk in silence for a few minutes, with Atem still watching the snow in fascination. He watched it swirl lazily through the air, leaving a white coating on everything it touched. He listened to the way it crunched under Yuugi and Anzu’s feet, and turned to look behind them, glancing back at the two sets of deep bootprints that trailed behind Yuugi and Anzu. 

A question suddenly occurred to Atem, and he tilted his head curiously as he concentrated for a moment, staring at his feet. 

_ “Look! I can make footprints too,”  _ he announced excitedly, watching in delight as the snow shifted around his feet. 

“Woah, cool,” Yuugi said with an impressed look. “Better hope nobody sees you, though.”

_ “Oh, right, I suppose you’ve got a point there… Wait, wait, watch this,”  _ Atem gasped as another idea occurred to him. 

Still watching his feet, Atem stopped walking, opting instead to simply float along next to Yuugi. He grinned as two long, straight lines through the snow appeared in his wake. 

“Woah, it looks like a snake!” Yuugi exclaimed.

_ “Pretty cool, huh?” _ Atem agreed, nodding proudly. 

Anzu laughed. “Well someone’s certainly having fun!”

“Remember the first time he saw it rain here?” Yuugi commented. 

“I sure do,” Anzu recalled with an amused smile. “That was cute.”

“What’s cute?”

Yuugi, Anzu, and Atem all nearly jumped, startled by the unexpected fourth voice.

“B-Bakura-kun! Don’t scare me like that,” Yuugi gasped, trembling slightly. 

_ “Yeah, that’s my job,”  _ Atem added. 

Bakura laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Good morning.”

“What are you doing here?” Anzu wondered. “Uh, no offense, of course,” she added quickly, looking apologetic. 

“Oh, I used to take a different route to school, but I figured out that this one is faster,” Bakura explained.

“Well, now all four of us can walk to school together,” Yuugi said cheerfully. 

Bakura smiled, grateful for being accepted into their friend group, and fell into place beside them.

(Atem felt the same way, though he didn’t say out loud just how very much it meant to him that Yuugi had counted four people instead of three.)

“Oh hey, by the way,” Bakura began as they walked, “Do you guys wanna go ghost hunting with me today?”’

Atem raised an eyebrow, frowning unamusedly.  _ “Excuse me?”  _

“Ah, I don’t mean  _ literal _ hunting!” Bakura corrected himself quickly. “Just, you know, looking for ghosts. Ghost… Finding, I guess. I got a new EMF meter, you see,” he explained.

_ “Does it talk?”  _ Atem muttered, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“Nope.”

_ “Good.” _

“Sounds like fun, but I have to work today,” Yuugi told Bakura apologetically. “Good luck, though!”

“Thanks,” Bakura replied, as he followed Yuugi and Anzu through the gates of the schoolyard. 

* * *

“Woah, look who actually decided to show up for once,” Jounouchi whispered as the group slowly entered their classroom, nodding towards one of the students who had arrived early: A tall, brown-haired boy, sitting ramrod straight at his desk, a bored expression on his face.

“Who’s that?” Bakura asked quietly. 

“Seto Kaiba, ruthless agent of capitalism,” Jounouchi grumbled in response. “I hate that guy.”

“He runs Kaiba Corporation, so he’s always busy doing… I dunno, CEO stuff, I guess,” Honda added helpfully, given Jounouchi’s lack of proper explanation.

Yuugi frowned slightly. “Yeah, he’s… Not really the nicest guy ever,” he put it delicately. 

“‘Not the nicest guy ever’? Yuugi, he tried to steal your grandpa’s favorite card when he wouldn’t sell it to him,” Anzu pointed out as they walked over to Yuugi’s desk.

“W-Well, yeah…”

“Hey, Kaiba, are you sick or something?” Jounouchi said loudly, leaning against his desk almost aggressively. “It’s not like you to want actually come to school with the unwashed masses, are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Kaiba crossed his arms with a huff, scowling at Jounouchi’s sarcastic taunts. “For your information,  _ Jounouchi, _ I was on a business trip,” he said dryly. 

“For six  _ months?” _ Jounouchi questioned. 

“Yes. Six. Months,” Kaiba repeated, with just as much scathing bitterness. 

“But I saw your brother three days ago,” Yuugi pointed out confusedly. 

“And what of it?”

Yuugi raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced, but said nothing. He simply shook his head in disbelief, turning back towards his friends instead. 

“What’s with you?” Honda said quietly to Atem. “You look like…”

Honda paused his sentence, snickering slightly. 

Atem frowned suspiciously.  _ “What? I look like  _ **_what?”_ **

“...You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Honda finished, breaking out into a wide, self-satisfied grin. 

Atem relaxed, unable to keep from laughing slightly at the pun.  _ “Yeah, yeah. I just… This Kaiba guy reminds me a lot of my cousin, Seto,”  _ he explained with a thoughtful look. 

“Was your cousin a massive douche with a god complex?” Jounouchi questioned flatly, raising an eyebrow. 

_ “Eh, I guess it depends on how you look at it,”  _ Atem answered, frowning and tilting his head in an uncertain gesture.  _ “When he was younger he was definitely… Annoying, to put it lightly _ …  _ But he was always a good person when it came down to it, and he matured a lot when he got older, although his biggest flaw is definitely still his pride,”  _ he admitted. 

“Sounds like kind of a prick,” Jounouchi decided. 

_ “I mean, yeah, but a nice one though,”  _ Atem replied, shrugging.

“Forget about that, I have a question for you guys,” Bakura interrupted. “Do you want to go ghost hu- Uh, I mean, ghost- _ finding _ with me later?”

“Hell yeah, let’s go befriend some ghosts!” Jounouchi decided, throwing his hands up in excitement. 

Honda gave Jounouchi a rough, affectionate pat on the back. “Look at you, all… Not afraid of ghosts! You finally got some character development, bro!” he exclaimed with a laugh. 

“Aw, shut up! I was never afraid of ghosts,” Jounouchi insisted, sticking his tongue out at Honda. 

“Oh, come on. You looked like you were gonna piss yourself that first time we played D&D,” Honda teased. 

“Hey! I did not!”

“Dude, you totally did. You were all, ‘Aah, don’t eat my soul! Don’t put a curse on me! Guys, you can’t make the ghost mad or he’ll eat us! Aah!’”

_ “It’s true, you were,”  _ Atem admitted, nodding and giving Jounouchi a half-amused, half-apologetic smile. 

“Yeah, it was pretty pathetic,” Anzu added. 

Jounouchi growled, red in the face and tensed up as if ready to explode with irritation. “Look, I’m not afraid of ghosts, alright?! You guys are jerks!” he shouted, though the others simply laughed. 

“No one should be afraid of ghosts, because they don’t exist.”

The laughter abruptly stopped. 

There was an awkward tension as the group turned towards the source of the firm, matter-of-fact statement. Kaiba still sat with his arms crossed, eyes closed and head held high in haughtiness.

_ “Oh boy,”  _ Atem muttered. 

“Yes, they do,” Bakura told Kaiba, sounding rather defensive. 

“No, they don’t,” Kaiba repeated.

Yuugi sighed. “Kaiba-kun…”

“Yeah they do, dumbass,” Jounouchi butted in, with the others muttering in agreement. 

“Ghosts exist, and you shouldn’t say they don’t,” Bakura warned Kaiba. “It’d be a bad idea to offend them.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes, turning in his chair  to face the group properly. “No, they don’t. Science has never been able to prove the existence of ghosts, because they aren’t real,” he insisted. “There’s no such thing as ghosts, and anyone who buys into that kind of hocus-pocus nonsense is an idiot… Although I suppose everyone already knows Jounouchi’s a proud straight-F student,” he added in a low, taunting sneer, looking Jounouchi dead in the eye as he did so.

Everyone knew what was coming next, but only Honda was quick enough to react, nearly falling over as he grabbed Jounouchi by the back of his gakuran just in time to stop him.

“Let me  _ go,  _ Honda! Let me at him! I’ll fucking kill him!” Jounouchi roared as he struggled to get away. The whole class looked up in shock, several people shouting in surprise or quickly pulling their desks away from the battle zone. 

“Don’t, it’s not worth it, man!” Honda insisted, holding Jounouchi tightly with both arms around him, wincing slightly as Jounouchi flailed. 

“Fuck you!” Jounouchi snapped. 

“Kaiba-kun, that was uncalled for,” Yuugi said in a firm tone, giving the closest thing to a glare his normally sweet face could possibly give. “Just because  _ you _ don’t believe in ghosts doesn’t mean it’s right to talk down to people who do, and there was certainly no reason to insult Jounouchi-kun,” he insisted. 

“Yeah, you only said that for the sake of being a jerk,” Anzu agreed sternly.

Kaiba shrugged, leaning back in his chair, unbothered by Jounouchi’s continuing angry rage against him. “What? I was just being honest, that’s all.”

Atem raised an eyebrow at Kaiba.  _ “Wow, I take it back. This guy’s infinitely more obnoxious than Seto,”  _ he decided, frowning. 

“I’m gonna fucking tear that shitty ass bowl cut off your piece of shit head and stuff it down your fucking throat-”

“What in the world is going on here?!” the teacher exclaimed, standing in the doorway with an expression of shock and anger. 

“Jounouchi’s trying to kill Kaiba, sensei!” one student shouted, pointing in accusation at Jounouchi.

“Kaiba started it,” Yuugi and the others said in an automatic chorus.

“I don’t care  _ who _ started  _ what,”  _ the teacher replied, putting her hands on her hips and scowling. “You should all know better. Now sit down, all of you. Jounouchi-kun, see me after class,” she ordered.

Despite all the students’ immediate, reluctant compliance, there was no lack of hushed chattering, along with glares shot as they sat down.

“If ghosts are real, then prove it,” Kaiba hissed under his breath while the teacher wasn’t looking.

_ “Okie-dokie,”  _ Atem replied cheerfully, and promptly pulled Kaiba’s chair out from under him with one swift motion.

Loud laughter echoed from every side of the room as Kaiba went down with a wide-eyed look of pure unguarded astonishment, giving an indignant yelp as his rear hit the floor with all the grace of a drunken giraffe. 

“Ha! There, see?! You pissed off our ghost friend, so he took your chair!” Jounouchi shouted triumphantly, standing up to laugh at Kaiba.

Kaiba whipped his head around to glare at Jounouchi as he picked himself up of the ground, blushing furiously.  _ “That  _ was obviously a coincidence,” he snapped.

_ “Mm, I think I’ve found myself a new hobby,”  _ Atem hummed, sounding rather ominously… Cheerful?

“Both of you sit down and be quiet!” the teacher shouted. “Jounouchi-kun, Kaiba-kun, I want not another word out of either of you unless called upon, or you’re both suspended. Understand?”

Jounouchi groaned, gritting his teeth in reluctance as he answered along with Kaiba. “Yes, sensei…”

“Good. Now then, class…”

* * *

Lunch, as per usual, involved everyone gathering around Yuugi’s desk, chatting away as they ate. (Kaiba, coincidentally, had vanished, apparently to take a phone call.)

“Man, I can’t wait for D&D this week,” Jounouchi said excitedly through a mouthful of rice. 

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to finally fighting… Uh, Whatshisname,” Honda added, frowning in confusion. 

“Oh, the necromancer? Did he have a name?”

“I think..? Or maybe not…”

“He does have a name, but I can’t remember it off the top of my head, Yuugi admitted. “I have it written down somewhere.”

_ “I’m also very much looking forward to facing him,”  _ Atem agreed with an ominous smile.  _ “It’ll be quite… fun. I look forward to his death.” _

“And you wonder why Jounouchi used to be afraid of you,” Anzu muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, speaking of killing the necromancer… Bakura-kun, you were saying you wanted to run a one-shot, right?” Yuugi recalled. “I don’t have the next plot totally planned out yet, so once we finish this one, that could be the perfect time for you to do it.”

Bakura nodded excitedly. “I thought so too! I’ve got a couple ideas in mind, but I need some details from you first.”

“Oh, really? Cool!” Yuugi exclaimed. “Um… I don’t want to spoil anything for the others, so…” He trailed off, frowning as he mentally searched his schedule for a day when he’d be free to meet up with Bakura. 

“Hmm… I guess we could plan it over the phone,” Bakura suggested. 

Yuugi shrugged. “Sure, that works. My number is-”

“Um… E-Excuse me, Bakura-kun?”

The group looked up to find a trio of girls standing behind Bakura, with a mixture of excitement and nervousness on their faces. Yuugi and the others went quiet as Bakura turned towards the one who had spoken- the most flustered-looking of the three of them- and bit his lip slightly as he answered, “Yes?”

“Go on, say it!” one of the other girls whispered, giggling quietly as she elbowed her friend. 

The girl took a deep breath, and held out something towards Bakura, bowing with her gaze turned towards the floor. “Um, this is for you! I-I’d appreciate it if you read this, please!” she squeaked.

“Oh, uh, thank you,” Bakura replied with a rather forced smile, gingerly taking the envelope from the girl. 

Almost the moment he took it, the three girls ran off; One blushing furiously and hiding her face, the other two giggling, all whispering among themselves. Yuugi and the others exchanged awkward, half-amused, half-disbelieving glances.

“You’re certainly… Popular, huh, Bakura-kun,” Yuugi commented, raising an eyebrow.

Bakura groaned, hitting the letter against his forehead and covering his face. “I was hoping that by changing schools, I could  _ avoid _ this kind of thing,” he mumbled from behind his hands. (Yuugi gave Bakura a sympathetic pat.)

“Dude, I don’t get why you’re so upset,” Honda said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Chicks dig you, man! You’re living the dream! You could date any girl in this school if you wanted to!”

“Honda, I’m gay,” Bakura replied flatly. 

Honda blinked in cofusion. 

“...You are?”

“Yes,” Bakura answered with an irritated, exasperated sigh. “I thought that was kind of obvious, but apparently not.”

Jounouchi laughed, and gave Bakura a friendly clap on the back. “Aw, don’t mind Honda- He’s the token straight friend, he doesn’t know anything,” he assured Bakura. 

“Hey! Shut up! Who are you calling a token?!” Honda shouted back. Jounouchi simply laughed some more. 

Bakura sighed. “Anzu-chan, you’re a girl-”

“Allegedly- Ow!” Jounouchi yelped as Anzu pulled his ear. 

“-Why does this keep happening to me?” Bakura wondered, looking to Anzu with a pleading expression. 

“It’s because you’re tall,” Anzu answered simply, right off the bat. 

There was a moment of thoughtful silence. 

“That’s  _ it?!”  _ Bakura exclaimed. 

“Yuugi, I need you to tell me where you buy your platform boots,” Honda gasped, putting both hands on Yuugi’s shoulders with a look of desperation. 

“No.”

“Well, that and the fact that you’re polite, don’t hit on all the girls, and don’t say weird pervy stuff all the time,” Anzu clarified, shrugging. “You’d be surprised how much girls like it when you don’t objectify and demean them. You two should try it sometime,” she added in a smug, sarcastic whisper, looking pointedly at Honda and Jounouchi. 

Jounouchi stuck his tongue out at Anzu in response.

Suddenly, something occurred to Honda, as he frowned as if thinking hard about something. “Wait… If I’m the ‘token straight friend’... Are you implying I’m the only straight person here?!” he blurted out in surprise. 

“That is exactly what I’m saying, yes,” Jounouchi replied. 

Honda gasped, glancing around in confusion and bafflement. “I- but- That can’t be right! Like, statistically that can’t be right!” he exclaimed. “I mean, I know Anzu’s bi, but… Yuugi?!”

Yuugi gave Honda a sarcastic look. 

“...Alright, stupid question, I guess,” Honda muttered, suddenly feeling acutely aware of Yuugi’s rather eccentric fashion choices. “But what about Atem?”

_ “What about me?” _

“You think a straight guy walks around in a tiara all day?” Jounouchi pointed out, raising an eyebrow. 

_ “Oh, first of all, this is a circlet, not a tiara,”  _ Atem corrected him.  _ “A tiara is smaller, and goes on top of your head.” _

Jounouchi turned towards Honda. “You think a straight guy knows the difference between a tiara and a circlet?” he said in the exact same tone. 

_ “-And secondly, I haven’t understood a word any of you have said since we stopped talking about D&D,”  _ Atem finished, frowning slightly. 

“Oh yeah, I guess you didn’t really have these terms in ancient Egypt, huh,” Yuugi realized with a thoughtful look.

“Well then, I’ll break it down nice and simple for you,” Jounouchi announced. “Atem, who do you like?”

_ “My friends,”  _ Atem replied instantly, as if this answer was obvious. 

Jounouchi gave an amused snort. “No no, I mean like… Do you like girls, or dudes?”

Atem gasped, looking slightly shocked.  _ “I love all my friends equally! I would never discriminate based on gender,”  _ he insisted, sounding hurt by the implication.  

Jounouchi paused for a moment, mouth open as if to say something, before sighing and nodding slowly. 

“...Yep, you sure do,” he gave in. “We love you too, buddy.”

Atem beamed, though he was still confused. 

“He means  _ romantically,” _ Anzu explained gently to Atem. “Who do you like romantically?”

_ “Oh, nobody,”  _ Atem answered simply, now that he understood the question. 

The others looked surprised.

“Wait, really?” Bakura wondered. “But what about like, your first crush?”

_ “Never had one,”  _ Atem replied, shrugging.  _ “Doubt I ever will, and frankly, I don’t even want one.” _

“Huh.”

“Yes! Aro buddies! High five!” Jounouchi exclaimed with a wide grin, holding up his hand. 

Atem paused for a moment before hesitantly, uncertainly touching Jounouchi’s hand, frowning in confusion and raising an eyebrow at Jounouchi as if looking for confirmation.

“...We’ll work on it,” Jounouchi decided with a satisfied nod. 

Bakura frowned thoughtfully. “Um… I hope this isn’t a rude question or anything, but… How do you know it’s not just because, uh…” Bakura trailed off, shifting uncomfortably as he tried to figure out how to phrase things. “W-Well, how do you know it’s not just because… You know… um… …Well, because you died so young?” he finished quietly, looking away. 

Atem gave Bakura a sour look.  _ “And what if it is? What difference does it make? I fail to see why the hell it would matter, seeing as I’m not just going to magically ‘grow up’ any time soon,”  _ he snapped, crossing his arms. The others practically flinched in anticipation as the shadows in the room seemed to flicker and wave ominously. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!” Bakura apologized quickly, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Y-You’re right, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t mean to be dismissive or anything, honest. I was just curious, but I guess it was kind of a bad question, huh,” he admitted with an apologetic tilt of the head. 

Atem sighed, settling down slightly.  _ “It’s alright. I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s… Kind of a touchy subject, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you like that.” _

“It’s okay.”

_ “To answer your question, though… I think I’ve just always kind of felt differently about this sort of thing,”  _ Atem confessed.  _ “After all, plenty of people fall in love when they’re far younger than sixteen.” _

“That’s a fair point, I suppose,” Bakura replied with a shrug.

“Man, it took me forever to figure out romance isn’t made up,” Jounouchi commented with a dry laugh. “I mean like, I didn’t give a shit when I was a kid, but once I was like… I dunno, like junior high age I guess- I thought the whole thing was just really elaborate social customs about sex,” he recalled.

The others gave a number of simultaneous outbursts of emotions ranging from shock to amusement.

“You thought  _ what?!”  _ Anzu exclaimed, eyebrows raised so high it seemed they could almost jump off her head.

Jounouchi laughed once again. “Yeah, right? I just thought the whole thing was like, sorta metaphorical I guess, and that the end goal was always sex. I figured when you grow up, you pick someone you think is really hot who likes you back, and then you get married and go through the whole big shindig and blah blah blah and then you get to bang ‘em as much as you want forever.”

“Ooookay then,” Yuugi muttered.

“Yep, so I thought the whole thing was pretty stupid and unnecessary,” Jounouchi continued with a nod of reminiscence. “And then I found out about asexual or nonsexual or whatever, and I was like, ‘Wait, so it’s  _ not _ all metaphorical? People actually _ mean it _ when they talk about all that mushy shit? Whaaaaaat?!’”

“That’s, uh… Interesting,” Bakura commented. “I guess I can see how someone might think that; Romance can be kind of performative sometimes, if you think about it,” he realized.

Atem wrinkled his nose in distaste.  _ “I’m definitely not interested in any of  _ **_that_ ** _ stuff, thank you,”  _ he announced tersely.

Jounouchi shrugged. “Fair enough, man. But my point is…” he paused for a moment, frowning slightly in concentration. “...Actually, I forgot what- Oh! I remember now. Yeah, point is, it’s totally not just a kid thing, I think,” he finished.

“...Thanks… for that… Uh, lovely little anecdote,” Yuugi said awkwardly.

“God, you’re so weird, dude,” Honda told Jounouchi, shaking his head in amusement.

Jounouchi huffed. “Hey, shut up! You ought to be thanking me for sticking with you through that whole year Miho-chan had you totally brainwashed,” he pointed out.

“That wasn’t brainwashing! It was  _ love!  _ True love! True love tragically torn apart when she moved away!” Honda argued.

“Dude, she was so obviously a lesbian!”

“Nu-uh, she’s dated guys before, like uh… Like Whatshisname, you know, game show freak?” Honda recalled.

“Oh, come  _ on. _ She was clearly only into him because he had money.”

“No, yeah, Jounouchi’s actually completely right,” Anzu butted in. “Miho’s happy to let boys buy her lunch or give her nice gifts, but she’ll never actually date them. I just didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, and I figured once she moved away you’d forget about it anyway, but…”

Honda made a sort of pained squeaking noise.

“God, what a legend, though,” Jounouchi whispered reverently. “If I were a cute girl I’d do the same thing. I miss Miho-chan, she knew what was up.”

“You’re a monster!”

“You look confused,” Yuugi commented to Atem, as Jounouchi rubbed Honda’s back in an attempt to comfort him through his heartbreak.

_ “I am, _ ” Atem answered with a nod.  _ “I mean, I think I sort of get the topic of the conversation, but… I really have no idea what any of these words mean.” _

“I can explain more later if you want, it’s kinda complicated stuff,” Yuugi decided.

Atem simply shrugged.

“Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but about our ghost-finding later,” Bakura interrupted, “I was thinking we could start in the club rooms. Lots of drama happens in clubs, so I bet they’re good spots.”

_ “I’m telling you, you’re not going to find anything,”  _ Atem said, shaking his head.  _ “There’s nobody haunting this place but me, and I mean… You can talk to me whenever you want, you know,”  _ he pointed out.

“You don’t  _ know _ that there’s nothing else haunting the school, though,” Bakura insisted.

Atem blinked.  _ “But… I  _ **_do,_ ** _ though.” _

“What about all those old warehouses down by the docks?” Yuugi suggested, as he began cleaning up his lunch, in wordless sync with the other students. “Those seem like they could be haunted.”

“Oh yeah, maybe!” Bakura agreed, nodding enthusiastically. “Well, I guess we’ll talk about it later,” he decided as he began heading back to his desk, just as the teacher walked in.

The room slowly returned to order, with every student returning to their respective desks, watching the teacher expectantly. Atem, too, sat down in his usual spot on the floor next to Yuugi’s desk.

As the students focused their attention on the lesson, Atem glanced idly at the snow outside the window- And then at Kaiba, seated at the desk to the right of him, stony-faced and blissfully unaware of Atem’s presence.

God, did he remind Atem of Seto. And if he truly reacted to things the way Seto used to...

Atem grinned mischievously; It was going to be a fun day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, they did indeed have a concept of snow in ancient Egypt thanks to trade with Lebanon. Also, Miho is still out there somewhere... Breaking hearts, getting cashmoney... What an icon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will attempt to reconcile certain issues I recently realized this fic has re: ancient Egyptian ghosts. This fic was mostly started on a whim, so I didn't initially do much research, and of course being an American- pagan or not- I've definitely internalized a lot of Christian-centric beliefs about ghosts and the afterlife (e.g. the idea that dead people don't show up unless they have an unusual reason to), so there are some things that don't really line up with ancient Egyptian beliefs. Although I can't exactly change that now, hopefully I can at least address them in a semi-reasonable way.  
> Also, I realized that at this point in the story Atem is almost definitely more literate in Japanese than I am, given that he has the advantage of already having a full vocabulary, and now I'm like... mad about it... >:/

Atem stared idly out the window from his seat at the kitchen table, resting his chin in his hands and leaning against his elbows; If it were possible for ghosts to do anything even remotely comparable to sleeping, that was almost certainly what Atem was doing, zoning out with a blank expression and thinking about nothing in particular as Yuugi’s family ate dinner- But of course, zoning out was the most he could do. He did not snore, he did not stop thinking, he did not dream; He still heard the conversation going on around him, even if he wasn’t paying attention much. (It wasn’t that he was unhappy at all- He simply didn’t have much better to do, being unable to eat or participate in the conversation.)

“Why, what’s wrong with the Puzzle?!”

Atem perked up slightly upon hearing mention of the object that currently housed his soul, his mind picking up on the word almost as if it were his own name.  _ “Hmm? What?” _

“Honey, it’s solid gold and almost as big as your head,” Yuugi’s mother said, sounding almost slightly sarcastic. “You wouldn’t want it to get stolen, would you? Or what if you forget it in the hotel room?”

“I would never do that!” Yuugi insisted, as Atem watched with a confused frown, trying to figure out what was going on.

“I agree with your mother, Yuugi,” Grandpa said with a sympathetic look. “It’s just not worth the risk.”

“And besides, ever since you first put that thing together you’ve been acting off,” Yuugi’s mother muttered under her breath.

Yuugi’s frown deepened, as he clutched the Puzzle protectively. “But I can’t just leave the Puzzle alone for the whole weekend! He’ll get lonely!”

“‘He’?” Yuugi’s mother repeated, raising an eyebrow.

_ “Oh no,”  _ Atem whispered as Yuugi clasped a hand to his mouth.

Yuugi’s mother let out a huff of frustration, putting her drink down rather firmly and shaking her head. “See, this is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about! Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, mister, but I know exactly what’s going on with you and that Puzzle,” she snapped.

Yuugi and Atem both went slightly pale (despite the latter being a ghost- Yuugi had long since given up on questioning ghost physiology), exchanging worried glances. 

“You do?” they asked in sync.

“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “You’ve joined a cult, haven’t you?”

Yuugi nearly choked on his curry.

Atem burst out laughing, doubling over with hysterical giggles as Yuugi coughed.  _ “What?!”  _ he exclaimed with gleeful amusement, clutching his sides with laughter.

“I-  _ What?! _ Mom, what the heck?!” Yuugi spluttered, staring at his mother in bafflement.

“Don’t try to hide it from me!” his mother shouted. “Ever since you solved that damn puzzle, you’ve been acting strangely, talking to yourself, saying strange things about Egypt all the time… And Anzu-chan’s mom told me the two of you have started hanging out with that Bakura kid, and she heard from someone from his old school that he’s a devil worshipper!” she insisted.

Yuugi shot Atem a glare as he laughed so hard he fell out of his chair, tumbling backwards through the back of the chair and onto the floor, his head halfway through the sink as he continued laughing. 

“N-Now dear, I think you might be jumping to some conclusions there,” Grandpa interrupted awkwardly, holding up his hands as if to placate his daughter-in-law. “You know our Yuugi is a good boy, he’d never get involved in something like that.”

“Mom, Bakura-kun’s not a satanist, he’s just goth,” Yuugi argued.

“Then what about this ‘pharaoh’ person you and your friends always talk about, huh?” his mother continued.

“He’s just-”

“The center of your cult, isn’t that right?”

_ “Oh, yes, of course! That’s me, demonic teenage cult deity! Every week I demand tribute of blood sacrifice and trading cards,”  _ Atem said from the floor, before bursting into another fit of giggles.

Yuugi groaned, covering his face with one hand in exasperation with an audible smack. “No, mom, the pharaoh is  _ not a cult demon,” _ he emphasized the last few words rather pointedly through gritted teeth, kicking uselessly at the ghost on the floor. “He’s just… um… I-It’s an inside joke, you see, he’s just one of our D&D characters,” he lied.

Yuugi’s mother narrowed her eyes at him.

“...You know, I talked to myself when I was Yuugi’s age, too,” Grandpa interrupted. “High school is a stressful time, it’s only to be expected. I think you’re being a bit too hard on him, Mitsuko.”

“Mom, please, you know I’d never join a cult or anything like that,” Yuugi repeated.

Yuugi’s mother continued to frown for several seconds, looking conflicted, before finally sighing in resignation. 

“Fine, if you say so,” she conceded. “But you still have to leave the Millennium Puzzle home.”

“But mom!”

“No ‘but’s,” she insisted. “You’re leaving it here, and that’s final.”

Yuugi let out a soft whine. “Ugh, fine… Can I be done with dinner now?” he muttered.

His mother nodded, and with that, Yuugi placed his dishes in the sink and hurried off to his room, face flushed red in embarrassment and frustration. Atem, with some reluctance, finally pulled himself off the floor, and followed Yuugi up the stairs.

* * *

“Look what you’ve gotten me into,” Yuugi grumbled once he’d made it to his room and shut the door behind him.

Atem snickered.  _ “Now now, is that any way to talk to your cult overlord?”  _ he teased.

Yuugi wordlessly hurled his pillow at Atem. 

Atem raised an eyebrow in amusement as the pillow flew straight through his upper body, landing on the floor behind him. With a slight mischievous grin, he picked the pillow up and threw it right back, catching Yuugi off guard and hitting him square in the face with a soft  _ fwump.  _

Yuugi blinked in surprise, and then shook his head, the smallest hint of a smile betraying his grumpy attitude. “Alright, that does it,” he declared with a slight laugh, and threw the pillow once again. 

This time, the pillow stopped in midair as Atem “caught” it and promptly threw it back; And then suddenly, they were both laughing and smiling and teasing each other, tossing the pillow back and forth, jumping around and giggling like children as they each tried to get in a “hit” in their mock battle. Atem gave Yuugi a playful shove, and Yuugi laughed as he returned the gesture- Only to fall through Atem, stumbling and landing on the floor. 

_ “Oh! Are you ok?!”  _ Atem gasped, abruptly dropping the game as he moved to the side, staring at Yuugi with wide-eyed concern.

“I’m fine,” Yuugi assured him. “You cheated, though,” he added with a teasing tone, still grinning slightly as he pushed himself up from the floor. 

Atem gave an amused snort, shrugging.  _ “Well, it’s not like I did it on purpose.” _

Yuugi laughed quietly as he brushed the dirt off his clothes, wordlessly bringing the play fight to an end. He picked up the pillow, shook it out, and carefully replaced it on the bed, taking a breath as the slight adrenaline rush gradually wore off.

“You know, I’ve been wondering something,” he began as he sat down on the bed. “How come sometimes you can touch things, but not always? And how come you can sit in chairs and stuff like that without falling through them?”

Atem tilted his head thoughtfully as he walked over to Yuugi, sitting down next to him on the bed as if to illustrate his point. 

_ “Hmm… I think when it comes to furniture and walls and things like that, as long as I know where they are, I won’t go through them unless I want to. It’s like, I expect to not go through them, so I don’t,”  _ he explained.  _ “I can choose to move some things if they’re not terribly heavy, but… I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m starting to suspect that I don’t actually become ‘solid’- I think it’s just another expression of telekinesis. I mean, you’ve seen how much trouble I have with things that move, like dice,”  _ he pointed out. 

“That makes sense,” Yuugi agreed, nodding. 

Atem continued looking thoughtful for a moment, as neither of them said a word. 

_ “...Can you feel it when I touch you?”  _ he asked curiously. 

“Um, sort of?” Yuugi answered, though he seemed uncertain himself. 

Atem hesitated for a moment before quietly, gently laying his hand over Yuugi’s, as it rested between them on the bed. 

_ “What does that feel like?” _

Yuugi took a breath and paused for a moment before responding, thinking carefully about how to answer, focusing curiously on the sensation of contact with his ghostly companion. He turned his hand palm up, as if to hold Atem’s hand- though naturally, his fingers simply curled right through Atem’s translucent form, like trying to touch a light projection. 

“It feels… ...It’s like, I can tell that something’s touching me, but that’s about it,” he began slowly, still thinking. “I guess you could say there’s a little bit of pressure? But there’s no texture or anything to it… Mostly it just feels cold.”

_ “Cold, huh…”  _ Atem muttered curiously, partially closing his hand around Yuugi’s, making an equally hopeless attempt at holding hands.  _ “I wonder why it feels cold?” _

Yuugi frowned slightly. “I’m not sure- Well, actually… Not to make things morbid or anything, but…” he looked down slightly, dropping his voice to a quiet, low tone, as if not sure he should be saying anything. “I mean, you’re dead… Dead bodies are cold,” he muttered. 

_ “Mm, I suppose, but I don’t have a body,”  _ Atem pointed out.  _ “Or, technically I do, but it’s all the way in the Valley of the Kings. ...Presumably, anyway,”  _ he added with a slight frown.  _ “If it isn’t… Someone will die.” _

“I’m sure your body is fine,” Yuugi insisted quickly, not looking forward to dealing with an angry ghost. “Anyway, now I’m curious- What does it feel like to you?”

_ “Nothing,”  _ Atem replied simply. 

“‘Nothing’?” Yuugi repeated in surprise. 

Atem shrugged.  _ “I don’t seem to have a sense of touch, so it doesn’t feel like anything to me.” _

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Yuugi whispered softly.

Atem looked at Yuugi with a half-amused, half-sympathetic smile, tilting his head curiously.  _ “What are you sorry for?” _

“I mean… It must be awful, not being able to feel things. I’m sorry you have to live with that.”

_ “Is it?”  _ Atem wondered, staring at his hands as if pondering the idea, as if the concept were a strange new suggestion.  _ “It doesn’t bother me.” _

“Wait, really?” Yuugi questioned, slightly confused. 

Atem nodded.  _ “I mean, I do sometimes wish I could play video games like you, or roll dice without them falling through my hands all the time… But when it comes down to it, I don’t think I miss being able to feel touch any more than you would miss being able to see colors that don’t exist,”  _ he explained simply. 

Yuugi blinked in surprise. “Oh… Well… Alright, maybe it was a little self-centered of me to make assumptions,” he admitted. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Atem smiled reassuringly (a gesture soon returned by Yuugi), and gave a thumbs up. Then his eyes widened slightly as he suddenly remembered something.

_ “Oh yeah, speaking of things that are supposed to be in my tomb… What was that your mom was saying earlier? About the Millennium Puzzle? Sorry, I missed the first half of that conversation,”  _ he admitted.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot!” Yuugi gasped. “Ok, so… You know how my dad’s coming home tomorrow?” he began, turning to face Atem properly.

_ “Mm-hmm.” _

“Well it turns out my family’s going on a mini vacation this weekend,” Yuugi continued. “We’re going to go to Innoshima, since grandpa wants to visit the go museum, and there’s a bunch of other stuff in the area… Problem is, my mom says I’m not allowed to bring the Millennium Puzzle with me,” he explained with a sigh.

Atem frowned slightly.  _ “I see…” _

“I don’t know what to do, because my mom hardly ever changes her mind on things,” Yuugi said, biting his lip. “And grandpa’s on her side, too… I don’t think I can convince them to let me bring you, and I can’t exactly just hide the Puzzle in my bag…”

_ “...Well, don’t worry about me,”  _ Atem told him seriously.  _ “After all, I wouldn’t want to impose on your time with your family.” _

“No, you wouldn’t be imposing! I mean, you’re…” Yuugi paused, not sure what he was trying to say. “...Anyway, I’d love for you to come, but I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my mom… But I don’t want to leave you alone for the whole weekend, either,” he sighed. 

Atem frowned in disappointment, tilting his head apologetically.  _ “It’s fine, it’s only for a few days. There’s nothing to be done about it, anyway.” _

“I know, but I don’t want you to be lonely… And frankly, after that whole thing with the alarm clock, I’m not sure I can leave you home alone and expect the house to still be there when I get back,” Yuugi muttered sarcastically. 

Atem scoffed.  _ “Yuugi, please. I ran an entire  _ **_country_ ** _. I think I can handle being alone for a few days,”  _ he insisted, crossing his arms self-assuredly.

“Yeah, and what happened then? You got murdered,” Yuugi pointed out. “That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, you know.”

_ “Hey, shut up.” _

Yuugi laughed. Atem stuck his tongue out at Yuugi, which only prompted further laughter. Finally, Yuugi shook his head in amused disbelief, as he got back on topic. 

“Really, though… It looks like I won’t have a choice other than to leave you home,” he said seriously. “I’m sorry, Atem.”

_ “It’s alright. I understand. I’ll be fine, I promise,”  _ Atem assured him.  _ “You go have fun with your family, don’t worry about me.” _

Yuugi looked unconvinced, but reluctantly nodded. “Alright. In the meantime, um… Oh, how about we work on your reading skills?” he suggested. “The newest Jump came today, so we might as well.”

Atem smiled widely.  _ “I’d like that.” _

“Alright then, let’s see,” Yuugi said, hopping off the bed and over to the desk. “Ooh, the cover art for this issue looks really nice…”

* * *

“God, look at him… What a prick. I can’t stand it.”

“But he’s not even  _ doing _ anything,” Yuugi pointed out, glancing over at the prick in question: Kaiba, seated calmly at his desk, silently reading over his notes. 

“I know, that’s the worst part! He’s just…  _ sitting _ there! Like a capitalist!” Jounouchi insisted. “He’s so calm, it’s pissing me off!  _ Do _ something already, asshole!” he exclaimed. 

Anzu raised an eyebrow. “You know, as much as I also hate Kaiba, I kind of wish he’d go on another inexplicable six month vacation, just so Jounouchi would shut up.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Jounouchi agreed sarcastically.

As the conversation went on like this, Atem watched Kaiba with a curious expression. After a moment, he drifted over towards Kaiba; With a thoughtful hum, he gave Kaiba an experimental poke in the shoulder. 

Kaiba abruptly looked up, glancing around in confusion. After a few seconds, he frowned slightly and returned to his reading. 

Atem poked him again.

This time, Kaiba turned to look behind him, head snapping up as he searched for whoever had poked him; Finding no clear perpetrator, he gave an irritated growl, and turned back around. 

Naturally, Atem poked him again. 

“What,” Kaiba snarled, turning to face Yuugi and the others. 

“What what?” Anzu countered confusedly. 

“Got a problem or something, Kaiba?”

“Yeah, I do, Jounouchi,” Kaiba sneered in response. “One of you dweebs keeps poking me.”

“It’s not any of us,” Yuugi promised, shaking his head with a sympathetic frown. 

“It’s the ghost, Kaiba-kun,” Bakura informed him. (Atem grinned and laughed, as if on cue.)

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “For the last time, there is no such thing as- Argh!” he cut himself off in frustration as he was once again poked by seemingly no one, whirling around in his chair to face the only other potential perpetrator. “Hanasaki?!”

“I-It’s not me, I swear!” Hanasaki stammered, shaking his head and waving his hands in denial, looking just as nervous as always. 

Kaiba gritted his teeth. “Well clearly  _ someone _ -”

Kaiba went silent as he felt a poke from the opposite side now, and just as soon he turned to look, one from the same side as before. Left, right, left, right, left, right, Kaiba continually turned his head as he tried to find the source of the annoyance, a number of increasingly confused and annoyed expressions crossing his face. All the while, Atem floated just behind him, cackling in sadistic amusement as he alternated hands, continually poking poor unwitting Kaiba. 

“Still don’t believe in ghosts?” Bakura prodded, sounding almost smug. 

For a moment, Kaiba looked as if he were about to snap- And then he took a long, deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to keep a neutral expression. 

“There’s obviously no such thing as ghosts. Clearly I am experiencing some unusual neurological phenomenon, quite possibly caused by stress,” he said quietly, in a carefully measured, even, terse tone. 

“Mm, keep telling yourself that, Kaiba,” Anzu muttered sarcastically. 

“Wow, hear that, Atem? You’re a phenomenon now!”

_ “Please. I have  _ **_always_ ** _ been a phenomenon,”  _ Atem declared, posing dramatically and tossing his hair for emphasis. His friends laughed. 

“Alright, maybe you should leave Kaiba alone now, though,” Yuugi suggested gently, though still amused.

Atem scoffed slightly, but nonetheless complied, settling in his usual spot on the floor, leaning back on his hands and looking up at his friends.

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I need to talk to you guys about,” Yuugi announced. “We’re not going to be able to have D&D this week, unfortunately.”

The others gasped, giving various exclamations of shock and disappointment. 

“What?! Why?!”

“Aww, man…”

“No D&D?!”

“Sorry, guys,” Yuugi said with an apologetic frown. “My family’s going on vacation this weekend, so I won’t be home,” he explained. 

“Oh, well have fun,” Anzu replied. “Where are you going?”

“Innoshima.”

Honda scoffed. “What is there to do in Innoshima?”

“There’s a go museum, I think Shuusaku was born there… Or no, maybe he died there?” Yuugi frowned, brow furrowing in puzzlement. “I dunno, something about Shuusaku. It’s probably made up anyway,” he realized, shrugging. 

“Your family’s all big nerds, huh?” Honda commented, raising an eyebrow. 

“Wow, that sounds really fun! I’d like to go there someday.”

“Found another one,” Jounouchi said flatly, gesturing towards Bakura. 

Yuugi, meanwhile, was still frowning, looking rather… uncertain. 

“The one problem is that… Mom says I have to leave the Millennium Puzzle home,” he confessed, glancing worriedly at Atem. 

“How come?” Bakura wondered. 

“She doesn’t want it to get lost or stolen. I tried to convince her that that wouldn’t happen, but she really won’t change her mind…”

_ “Which means I’m going to be alone for almost three days,”  _ Atem finished for him. 

Yuugi sighed. “Yeah.”

“So what are you going to do while Yuugi’s family is away?” Anzu asked Atem. 

Atem shrugged.  _ “Oh, you know. Watch TV, commit crimes, the usual,”  _ he answered casually, the slight upward quirk of his lips just barely betraying the joke. 

“Hey, you know… You could come hang out at my place,” Jounouchi suggested, sounding both excited and slightly hesitant.

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “O-Oh, that’s alright, I wouldn’t want to impose-” _

“You wouldn’t be imposing!” Jounouchi insisted. “You’re my friend, bro! It’d be like a sleepover! ...Wait, do ghosts sleep?” he wondered, frowning curiously.

_ “In fact, we do not.” _

“Oh.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Jounouchi-kun!” Yuugi agreed excitedly. “If you’re sure it won’t be a problem, we’d really appreciate that. Right, Atem?” he added, after realizing he’d unintentionally spoken for him. 

Atem nodded, smiling softly.  _ “That sounds… Fun. But, um, only if you’re really sure,”  _ he said once again, looking away in hesitation. 

“Of course, I’d love to have you, man! Wouldn’t have suggested it if it were a problem,” Jounouchi assured him with a grin.

“I mean, you do kind of have a tendency to just say the first thing that pops into your head, and make impulsive decisions without really thinking them through,” Anzu pointed out. 

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’m a moron and proud. But I’m sure about this one,” he repeated. “So, whaddya say, Atem? Wanna come stay at my place over the weekend?”

_ “I would love to,”  _ Atem decided, smiling.  _ “Thanks, bro.” _

Jounouchi and Honda both suddenly gasped, eyes going wide.

“Did… Did you just call me ‘bro’?” Jounouchi questioned in a whisper. 

Atem raised an eyebrow in confusion.  _ “Yeah..? Why, was I not supposed to?”  _ he asked, frowning worriedly.  _ “I’m sorry, I’m still not entirely used to Japanese formalities, I didn’t mean to-” _

“No, no, it’s ok! It’s cool! Great!” Jounouchi assured him quickly, shaking his head. “I’m honored that you would consider me your bro, bro.”

“Baby’s first bro… Aw man, I’m getting emotional,” Honda mumbled, pretending to wipe away a tear.

Atem blinked.

“You look confused,” Yuugi commented, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

_ “I am confused,”  _ Atem replied.

“‘Bro’ is like, what you call someone when they’re like… Your bro,” Jounouchi explained, as if this could possibly clear up absolutely anything.

“It means ‘friend’, but for jocks,” Bakura clarified.

Atem stared blankly at the floor, with an expression just about identical to the one he’d had upon finding out that Honda’s D&D character was a “cowboy”, yet not a half-human, half-cow hybrid. After a moment, he shook his head- he was getting absolutely nowhere- and stood up.

_ “Whatever. I think I’m gonna go bother Kaiba some more,”  _ he decided.

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Honda laughed. “Heh, get it? Spirit?”

“Aw, shut up.”

* * *

And so, the week came and went, faster than anyone could have guessed (or so it felt), anyway. Friday passed just as ordinarily as any other day, though Yuugi seemed to be practically buzzing the whole time; Nervous and excited all at once, waiting with impatient anxiety for school to get out.

But school did indeed get out eventually, and with that, the time came for a slight change in the usual walk home.

“So, you ready for our totally super cool mega awesome bro sleepover?” Jounouchi asked Atem, grinning as the group exited the classroom.

Atem nodded excitedly.  _ “Yes, I’ve been looking forward to it! I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun.” _

Jounouchi’s smile widened, pleased with Atem’s response.

“Oh… I guess I should give you the Millennium Puzzle now, huh,” Yuugi realized quietly.

Yuugi and Atem exchanged nervous glances; Ever since Yuugi had officially become friends with Atem several months earlier, he’d hardly been without the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck for even a moment, save for when he was sleeping or bathing. This would be the first time they’d been separated, and on top of that, the first time the Puzzle had been in the care of anyone other than Yuugi…

Even though it was only Jounouchi, their trusted, beloved friend… It was only natural to feel a little hesitation. Whoever possessed the Millennium Puzzle would be just as stuck with him as he would be with them.

“...Are you sure you two will be alright?” Yuugi questioned hesitantly.

_ “H-Hey, I was just joking when I said I was going to commit crimes while you’re away,”  _ Atem replied, shaking his head and waving his hands in denial. 

“We’ll be  _ fine,  _ Yuugi,” Jounouchi assured him. “Relax, bro. Don’t worry about us. You just go have fun with your family,” he insisted, making a shooing motion towards Yuugi, though there was nothing but affection in his tone.

“Yeah, you worry too much, Yuugi,” Honda agreed. “I mean, come on! It’s not like either of ‘em have ever set anything on fire or anything like that,” he teased.

“That was one time, Honda! One time!”

_ “And I said I was sorry!” _

Yuugi gave an amused smile, feeling a sudden surge of love for his friends, ridiculous personalities and all.

“Well then…”

Yuugi reached behind his neck, twisting his arms and head slightly as he pulled the Millennium Puzzle’s cord over his head and out from under his hair. He held the Puzzle for just a moment, feeling the warm metal in his hands, before handing it to Jounouchi. 

“Here you go, then,” he said cheerfully. 

“Cool, thanks,” Jounouchi said as he slipped the cord over his head. He adjusted the way it sat, and glanced down at the Puzzle with a curious expression; He held it in his hands experimentally, feeling the weight of it, running his thumbs along the crevices between the pieces, following their trails around the sides of the Puzzle like a maze.

“Huh… It’s heavy, but not nearly as much as I expected from looking at it,” he commented thoughtfully as they walked. 

_ “The inside of it is hollow,”  _ Atem explained.  _ “When I was a kid I used to hide snacks inside it and eat them when nobody was looking.” _

Jounouchi laughed. “Ah, sounds like something I would’ve done at that age, too.”

“What kind of snacks?” Anzu wondered, ever curious about ancient Egyptian life.

Atem tilted his head thoughtfully as he recalled his far-off childhood (although, surprisingly, he never seemed to struggle with remembering events of thousands of years ago).  _ “Oh… Mostly fruits, you know, as long as they were small enough to fit,”  _ he answered.  _ “Grapes, dates, small figs if I could find some… Usually fruits were dried, so whenever there was anything fresh, I was twice as likely to steal it,”  _ he added with a laugh.

Before the conversation could get much further, though, the group soon reached the school gate.

“Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye, huh,” Yuugi said.

The others paused to wait, no one saying a word as Yuugi and Atem looked at each other, still seemingly hesitant to part ways. 

“...Don’t cause any trouble for Jounouchi-kun, alright?” Yuugi told Atem after a moment. “No getting into fights in the middle of the night, or anything like that.”

Atem gave an offended snort.  _ “Yeah, thanks, mom. Geez, I didn’t know I annoyed you that much…” _

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” Yuugi insisted quickly with a slight gasp. “You’re not annoying, I just…” he trailed off, not sure what he was trying to say. He bit his lip, frowning with worry that he’d hurt Atem’s feelings. 

Atem gave Yuugi a reassuring, affectionate smile.  _ “It’s alright. I understand,”  _ he promised with a thumbs up.  _ “Have fun on your vacation.” _

Yuugi nodded. “I promise I’ll take lots of pictures for you! You have fun too, ok?”

“Wait, wait, back it up. ‘Fights in the middle of the night’?!”

_ “Don’t worry about it,”  _ Atem told Jounouchi simply, with a dismissive handwave that very much did not make Jounouchi feel at all reassured. 

Yuugi laughed. “See you guys on Monday.”

_ “Bye, Yuugi! Have fun on your vacation! Bye Anzu, bye Bakura-kun!”  _

“See you guys, have fun Yuugi!”

“Bye!”

“See you Monday!”

“Bye everyone!”

“Have fun, Yuugi!”

As the group went their separate ways- Yuugi, Anzu, and Bakura going in one direction, Jounouchi, Honda, and Atem going another- Atem turned around to look over his shoulder, watching until Yuugi and the others disappeared from view. After that, he instead took to looking around silently as they walked, ever curious about this new portion of the city he’d never seen; Jounouchi and Honda, meanwhile, fell into an easy routine, chatting away as they walked a path they’d long since memorized.

“Oh hey, heads up- Apparently Hirutani’s out of juvy already,” Honda said, while Atem continued to look around.

“What? Seriously?!” Jounouchi gasped.

“Yep,” Honda sighed. “I saw him and a couple other guys harassing some kid outside a bar the other day.”

Jounouchi groaned. “Geez… At least we won’t have to deal with him too much, seeing as we don’t go to Jackass High.”

_ “Who are you talking about?”  _ Atem wondered, just barely pulling his attention away from a vending machine they’d just passed.

“A douchebag, and that’s all you need to know,” Jounouchi replied with a terse grunt.

Atem raised an eyebrow.  _ “Alright…” _

And so, the three boys continued walking (or floating, in Atem’s case). Honda left shortly, taking a turn after a few blocks, while Jounouchi and Atem continued on forwards.

* * *

The farther they got, the more Atem couldn’t help but notice that it seemed rather... Different from Yuugi’s neighborhood. It was a bit more run down, a bit more dirty, with less of the colorful storefronts and restaurants that seemed plentiful near Yuugi’s house. Atem watched curiously as Jounouchi stopped in front of a large, rectangular building, several stories high, with rows of boxy balconies; The gloom of the building itself, a seemingly crumbling greyish-tan structure streaked with rust stains, was contrasted by the cheerfully colorful laundry that hung from many of the windows. Atem followed Jounouchi to a door on one end of the building, with a steel handle and faded red paint that flaked away in several places.

_ “Your house is massive,”  _ Atem commented in surprise as Jounouchi turned the handle.

Jounouchi gave an amused snort. “Yeah, it’s bigger on the outside,” he replied sarcastically.

Atem glanced around with interest as he followed Jounouchi up several flights of a rusty old stairwell, out through another door, and across one of the balconies, past several more doors and windows before stopping. Jounouchi reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of keys, fiddling slightly with the doorknob while Atem stared curiously at the bicycle that leaned against the wall next to the door.

“Well, here we are,” Jounouchi declared, shutting the door behind Atem. “Sorry about the mess.”

While Jounouchi took his shoes off, Atem looked around with wide, curious eyes, taking in every detail of the place Jounouchi called home. 

They stood in a small, narrow entryway, with two pairs of colorful, rather chunky-looking lace-up shoes by the door (What had Yuugi called those shoes? Weren’t they for running, or… Some sort of sports? Atem couldn’t remember), next to which Jounouchi placed the pair he was wearing, and his backpack. An umbrella leaned against the corner of the walls, just inside the door, and two jackets hung on hooks next to it. 

Following the entryway was the main room, which appeared to serve as a multi-purpose space. Towards the back was a small kitchen area, though it didn’t look heavily used, with tools consisting of only one pot, a wooden spoon, and a few dishes; On the opposite wall was a window, and underneath that, a messy, rumpled futon. In the center of the room was a low table, with a number of papers, books, toys, and cards scattered about in piles. On one side of the table was a small, battered old TV and Nintendo on top of an overturned milk crate, and on the other side, a bookcase; Contrary to the mess of the rest of the room, the items in the bookcase appeared meticulously organized, consisting of books (mostly manga), VHS and cassette tapes, action figures, and a neatly organized box of Duel Monsters cards. An open closet door revealed several hanging garments, a basket of laundry, and two cardboard boxes. (Atem recognized one of the boxes as being labeled “games and toys” in black marker, and couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of pride at this accomplishment.) Across from the closet was a closed door; The walls, meanwhile, were emblazoned with all manner of colorful posters and drawings.

Jounouchi seemed to pick up on the way Atem looked around the room, and laughed almost a bit bitterly as he hung up his school jacket. “I guess it’s not exactly a palace, huh… Sorry about that. But it’s mine, and that’s good enough for me,” he decided with a contented sigh. 

_ “I can certainly tell that you live here,”  _ Atem commented. 

“Aw, shut up, I said I was sorry about the mess,” Jounouchi replied with a huff. 

Atem’s eyes widened as he realized what Jounouchi was thinking.  _ “O-Oh, I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I don’t have any problem with it at all,”  _ he insisted, shaking his head.  _ “I just meant that it’s very you. I mean, it’s full of things you like, and all that… It makes me think of you. I like it.” _

Jounouchi blushed. “Oh, uh… Thanks, I guess?” he muttered confusedly, scratching the back of his head. “I-I mean, it is my apartment ‘n’ all that, so…” he trailed off awkwardly. 

_ “Do you live here alone?”  _ Atem wondered.

“Thankfully, yes.”

_ “Oh…”  _ Atem whispered, his expression suddenly growing sad.  _ “I’m sorry.” _

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Sorry about what?”

_ “About your parents.” _

To Atem’s surprise, Jounouchi burst out laughing. “They’re not dead, ya dumbass, they’re just divorced,” he corrected him amusedly. “My mom doesn’t give a shit about me, and my dad… Well, he’s a drunken, useless bastard who gives marginally less of a shit about me, which is impressive,” he finished bitterly. “So, I ditched and got my own place.”

_ “Oh… I’m… Sorry to hear that,”  _ Atem apologized for entirely different reasons, blinking in surprise, not entirely sure how to react to this depressing new knowledge.

Jounouchi gave a small shrug. “Eh, it is what it is, you’ve got no reason to apologize. The important part is that I hopefully never have to see my dad’s bitch ass again.”

Atem nodded, not sure what else to say.

Jounouchi yawned and stretched out his back, almost as if to physically shake off the awkward tension he’d created. “Anyway, I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Uh, is it cool if I leave this on the table..?” he asked tentatively, holding up the Millennium Puzzle.

_ “Of course,” _ Atem confirmed with a nod.

Jounouchi did so, sighing in relief as he removed the Puzzle’s rope from around his neck, twisting his head to loosen up his sore neck muscles. “Man, that thing really is heavy, even if it’s not as bad as it looks… I dunno how Yuugi puts up with it,” he confessed. “Come to think of it, didn’t you say you’ve had this thing since you were a kid? How did _ you  _ put up with it?” he wondered.

Atem shrugged.  _ “Yuugi and I are above such things as having weak necks,”  _ he decided mysteriously.

“Dude, I have  _ no _ idea what the fuck that means, but ok,” Jounouchi replied, raising an eyebrow. With that, he disappeared behind the unknown door, presumably a bathroom.

While he waited for Jounouchi to come back from the bathroom, Atem decided to investigate the drawings on the wall. One had caught his eye: A drawing of the Flame Swordsman from Duel Monsters, colorfully colored in with bright markers, and accompanied by bold text stylized to look like flames. (What it said, Atem couldn’t tell; With his limited knowledge of kanji, all he could make out was “Happy _____day ________!!”.) In addition to Flame Swordsman, there were several drawings of characters from games or TV, other people Atem didn’t recognize, and animals. Most were uncolored sketches, but some were colored in various mediums; Almost all of them seemed quite well made, with a charming art style that had a well-balanced blend of cartoon and realism.

_ “These drawings are really good,”  _ Atem commented once Jounouchi returned.  _ “Did you make them?” _

“Nah, my sister did,” Jounouchi replied. “Well, most of ‘em, anyway. I did a few, but… You can probably tell which those are,” he added with a nervous laugh. 

_ “Oh, did you draw Vegeta?”  _ Atem asked, nodding towards a drawing that had a noticeably different style from the others. 

Jounouchi tilted his head as if in silent apology. “It was supposed to be Gon, but… I kinda messed up on the hair,” he admitted.

Atem laughed.  _ “I was wondering why he looked so cheerful. Still, I think it’s a pretty good drawing. Definitely better than anything I could do,”  _ he pointed out.

“Aw, thanks, I guess,” Jounouchi said, fidgeting slightly. “Aren’t the others great, though?”

_ “They really are,” _ Atem agreed.  _ “Your sister is an amazing artist.” _

Jounouchi nodded enthusiastically. “She always had a hard time of it because of her bad eyesight, but I didn’t want to let that ruin her dreams, so I tried to encourage her no matter what. And it paid off, too,” he added. “She got surgery last year that mostly restored her vision, and she said if I hadn’t encouraged her to keep drawing all these years, she would’ve been way out of practice and had to start from the bottom.”

_ “You’re a good brother, Jounouchi-kun,”  _ Atem said with a gentle smile. 

Jounouchi sighed. “Yeah, I try to be, anyway… It’s hard to really look out for her since she lives with my mom, but I do my best. Shizuka’s the only person in my family who actually gives a shit about me, anyway, so it’s the least I can do,” he muttered.

Atem frowned worriedly.  _ “Well, at least you have your friends. I’ll always care about you, and I’m sure the others will too,”  _ he assured Jounouchi.

Jounouchi smiled. “Thanks, bro. I appreciate that.”

_ “You’re welcome… bro.” _

Jounouchi laughed, still amused by the rather out-of-place new addition to Atem’s vocabulary; Even though he  _ was _ a teenage boy, he so rarely talked like one that it was strange to hear.

“Anyway, I’m gonna grab a snack,” he decided after a moment, and then paused, frowning thoughtfully. “Uh, do you want anything? Do ghosts eat?” he wondered. 

_ “Hmm… I don’t think so, no,”  _ Atem replied, also frowning slightly, as if uncertain.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, you don’t  _ think _ so?”

_ “Well, normally I’d say yes, but… I don’t seem to function quite the same way as a normal akh, and I’ve never felt any need to eat anything, so.”  _ Atem shrugged. 

“What’s a… What you said?” Jounouchi asked confusedly. 

_ “What, an akh?”  _ Atem replied. 

“Yeah, that.”

Atem nodded patiently.  _ “Well, when you die, your ba and your ka-” _

“Your whowhatnow?”

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “Ah, I guess you don’t really have these concepts in Japan, huh…” _ he muttered, grimacing slightly as he came to the realization- based on the look on Jounouchi’s face- that a good deal more explanation would be required. 

_ “It’s, um… Okay, so, uh. Basically, people are made up of several parts: The body, heart, name, shadow, and uh… I’m not really sure how to translate the last two,”  _ he admitted, frowning as he tried to think of an explanation.  _ “I guess you could say ba is like your soul? It’s what makes you  _ **_you,_ ** _ basically. And then ka is like… Energy, maybe?”  _ he tried tentatively.  _ “I would say ‘life force’, but dead people have ka, and so does food, so…”  _ He shrugged.

“Huh, interesting.”

_ “Mm-hmm. So, when you die, your ba and your ka are reunited to form an akh,”  _ Atem continued.  _ “So basically, all dead people are akhs, I guess. It’s honestly not all that different from being alive; You still eat, and sleep, and drink, and all that, and you can visit the living during the daytime,”  _ he explained.  _ “Except… Obviously, I’m still here even after dark, and… I don’t eat or sleep.”  _ He bit his lip, looking slightly concerned.

“I see… So then, what does that make you?”

Atem paused for a long time before answering, staring at the floor with a puzzled expression. 

_ “...A yuurei, I guess?”  _ he decided after a moment, shrugging.

“Huh… Weird,” Jounouchi said as he sat down at the table. “Anyway, wanna duel?”

_ “I thought you were going to have a snack?”  _ Atem recalled. 

“A-Ah, well, you know… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything, so…” Jounouchi trailed off, giving Atem an apologetic look. 

_ “Oh, don’t worry about that! It doesn’t bother me,’  _ Atem assured him, shaking his head quickly.  _ “Like I said, I don’t get hungry, so why would I care? Besides, I’m going to be here for two days. You have to eat sometime,” _ he pointed out. 

“Oh, well in that case-” Jounouchi practically bounced towards the kitchen, grabbing a bag of potato chips and a can of soda, clearly no longer feeling the slightest hint of hesitation. 

Atem raised an eyebrow in amusement as Jounouchi sat down and eagerly opened the bag.  _ “Hungry much?” _

“Yeah,” Jounouchi laughed. He stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth, wiped his hands on his pants, and began shuffling his deck before asking, “Ygahy dmnck?”

Atem blinked in confusion.  _ “Uh, come again?” _

“Ah-” Jounouchi paused for a moment to chew his food, waiting until he swallowed to repeat himself. “Sorry, what I said was, ‘you got your deck’?”

_ “Oh- Aah, I forgot to ask Yuugi to give it to you,”  _ Atem realized.  _ “He must still have it. I’m sorry.” _

“Aw, damn… Oh well. Wanna watch a movie or something instead?”

Atem shrugged.  _ “Sure.” _

With a nod, Jounouchi stood up and went over to the bookcase, looking over the tapes on the shelf.

As Jounouchi searched, Atem idly examined the items on the table. One object in particular caught his eye: Two small wheels stuck together, emblazoned with colorful swirling flame designs on the front and back, with a string wrapped around the center where the two wheels were joined. What was such a thing for, he wondered? A toy? A machine? Could it play video games, maybe?

“Has Yuugi showed you Jurassic Park yet?” Jounouchi asked, still looking through the tapes in the bookcase. 

_ “Nope.” _

“Oh, we are  _ so _ watching that one,” Jounouchi decided with a grin, taking the tape in question out of the bookshelf.

Atem waited patiently as Jounouchi took the tape out of the box, popped it into the TV’s VCR slot, turned the TV on, and pressed a few more buttons. While the tape rewound itself- squeaking and rattling, people walking backwards as images flashed rapidly across the screen- Atem pointed to the two wheels and asked,  _ “What’s this?” _

“Oh, that? It’s a kind of toy called a yo-yo,” Jounouchi answered, picking it up off the table. “Here, I’ll show you what it does.”

Atem watched, curious and perplexed, as Jounouchi stood up and looped the end of the string around his middle finger. He held the yo-yo by the rim, wrapping his palm and middle finger around it, and held out his hand. Suddenly, he let the yo-yo drop, and-

Atem gasped in surprise and delight as the yo-yo seemed to hover in place for a moment, whirring slightly as the two wheels spun. Then, with a flick of Jounouchi’s wrist, the yo-yo climbed right back up its string and into his open hand. 

_ “Wow!” _

Jounouchi grinned. “Pretty cool, right?”

_ “Really cool! I love it!”  _ Atem exclaimed, waving his hands in excitement.  _ “I wish I could try it!” _

“Oh, you wanna? Here, go ahead,” Jounouchi told him, removing the string from his finger and holding the yo-yo out to Atem.

Atem shook his head.  _ “Oh no, I meant physically. I mean, I can’t even roll dice properly, I could never manage to do something like that,”  _ he clarified. 

“Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense…” Jounouchi realized quietly, frowning sympathetically. “If it makes you feel any better, a lot of living folks can’t yo-yo, either. It’s a lot harder than it looks,” he pointed out. 

_ “Is it really?”  _ Atem wondered in surprise. 

Jounouchi nodded. “You have to have just the right wrist motion to do it, plus a decent quality yo-yo. I actually used to be really good at it when I was a kid, but I lost my yo-yo for a couple years, so I’m out of practice. I used to try to do all the cool tricks from Sukeban Deka but I’d always just wind up- Oh hey, the movie’s done rewinding,” he realized, interrupting himself. 

Atem laughed.  _ “Well, you’re still doing better than I could,”  _ he insisted, as Jounouchi started the movie. 

* * *

Jounouchi’s tiny, messy apartment had become a venerable makeshift theater, all eyes glued to the tiny, blurry old TV screen with just as much rapt attention as if it were the biggest, clearest screen in Japan; The staticky music crackling through its speakers sending chills down the spines of its tiny audience, every growl, bang, or stomp prompting jumps of fear.

“Aw man, I hate this part,” Jounouchi said as the characters in the movie hid behind a kitchen counter, whispering under his breath as if his own voice could break the silence and send them to their doom. 

A knock cane on the door. 

_ “Oh no,”  _ Atem whispered. 

Jounouchi frowned slightly. “Wait, wasn’t that-”

A second knock came. 

Jounouchi and Atem exchanged pale, wide-eyed glances as they realized just where the knocking sound was coming from, slowly turning their gazes away from the TV. 

A third knock came at the door, and Jounouchi and Atem screamed. 

“It’s the raptors!” Jounouchi shrieked. 

_ “N-No, it can’t be! The movie is only pretend, dinosaurs aren’t real,”  _ Atem realized.  _ “...Right?” _

“That’s what everyone said about ghosts!” Jounouchi argued. 

Atem gasped.  _ “Shit, you’re right… But what if it isn’t a dinosaur, though?”  _

“N-No way. No way in hell am I opening that door,” Jounouchi insisted, shaking his head rapidly as he hid behind the bookcase. “You go check it out, you’re already dead!”

_ “Alright, I will,”  _ Atem decided. 

...He hesitated a moment, glancing back and forth between the children screaming on the TV screen and the entryway, where the knocks were growing more urgent. 

He took a deep, steadying breath. 

_ “Right. Ok. Gonna… check out the door,”  _ he muttered quietly, as if to motivate himself while he slowly approached the door.  _ “After all, dinosaurs aren’t real, and if they were it’d be my duty as pharaoh to protect those around me from them-” _

He gasped as he stuck his head through the door, like ripping off a bandaid- And then paused, blinking in surprise at what he saw. 

Confusedly, he pulled his head back in. 

_ “It’s a girl,”  _ he informed Jounouchi.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “A girl?”

_ “Yeah. A human girl, I mean, not a dinosaur,”  _ Atem clarified. _ “She seems kinda worried, too. You should probably let her in.” _

Jounouchi stood there in confusion for a brief moment, before hesitantly walking over to the door and turning the handle.

“Shizuka?” he blurted out in surprise, upon seeing the familiar face on the other side of the door.

“Oh, there you are! I was starting to get worried. Hi, big brother,” Shizuka greeted him cheerfully, her expression quickly changing from a concerned frown to a wide smile.

“Hey, sis… Sorry about that, we- I was watching a movie,” Jounouchi apologized, holding the door open for Shizuka. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“Mom had some last minute errands to run in Domino, so I thought I’d stop by and surprise you,” Shizuka explained as she took her shoes off. “I probably won’t be here too long, though.”

As this conversation took place, Atem peeked around the corner quietly, curious about what was going on. Jounouchi’s sister was a fair bit smaller than him, with long, shiny brown hair, and bright, gentle eyes matched by an angelic smile; Still, it was easy to see the sibling relationship between her and Jounouchi- If not by the subtle similarities in their faces, then by their posture and the way they talked to each other, more comfortable and casual than even friends would be. 

Atem moved out of the way as the two of them reached the end of the apartment’s entrance nook. He sat back down at the table, returning his attention to the movie.

“Jurassic Park, huh?” Shizuka commented, pausing in the middle of the room to glance curiously at the TV. 

“Mhm,” Jounouchi replied, and switched the movie off. 

(He shot Atem an apologetic glance; Atem simply shrugged.)

“I’m not afraid of that movie anymore, you know,” Shizuka declared, with a proud, matter-of-fact nod as she sat down. 

“Aww, my little sister’s all grown up! I’m so proud!” Jounouchi teased, giving Shizuka a rough pat on the head. 

Shizuka laughed, playfully batting Jounouchi’s hand away as he rumpled her hair. “Katsuya, cut it out!”

_ “She’s certainly more grown up than you are, Mr. I’m-Not-Answering-The-Door-In-Case-It’s-Dinosaurs,”  _ Atem pointed out, with a smug look on his face. 

Jounouchi pouted slightly. “Aw, shut up! Don’t act like you weren’t scared too!” he retorted. 

Shizuka frowned in confusion. “Huh..?”

“Oh, u-uh, nothing! I, uh, misspoke, my bad!” Jounouchi insisted quickly, eyes going wide with realization. “Anyway, uh- Hey, are you hungry?” he blurted out, in a hurried attempt to change the subject. 

Shizuka still seemed slightly confused, but answered nonetheless. “A little bit, yeah. Do you have any snacks?”

“Well, I ate all the chips… But I think there’s some onigiri in the fridge, let me check,” Jounouchi replied, walking over to the kitchen. 

There was a brief moment of quiet as Jounouchi searched for snacks. Shizuka idly glanced at the items on the table, unaware of the invisible pair of eyes that watched her with equal curiousity.

“What’s this?” she wondered.

“Hm? What’s what?” Jounouchi called out, voice muffled by the loud echoes of things in the fridge being shoved around.

“What’s this weird pyramid thing?”

Jounouchi gasped, turning around the moment he realized what she meant. “Wait, don’t touch that-”

Jounouchi’s warning came too late, however. Shizuka dropped the Millennium Puzzle like a hot plate almost the second she picked it up, letting out a terrified scream as Atem suddenly appeared within her field of vision. 

_ “Oh no,”  _ Atem whispered, a worried, guilty expression on his face. 

“Shizuka, wait!”

“Katsuya, I- Th-th-th-there’s… a… a  _ ghost!”  _ Shizuka shrieked, running to hide behind Jounouchi, shrinking in on herself and clinging to his shirt in fear. 

_ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”  _ Atem apologized, putting his hands up in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.

“Calm down, it’s ok!” Jounouchi assured Shizuka quickly. 

Shizuka whimpered. “But… But it’s a  _ ghost!” _ she repeated. 

“I know, but I promise everything’s fine,” Jounouchi insisted. “This is gonna sound kinda crazy, but… The ghost is my friend.”

Shizuka paused uncertainly for a moment. “...Your… friend..?”

“Mhmm. Why don’t you say hello?” Jounouchi suggested, gently nudging Shizuka out from behind him. 

Shizuka took a deep, shaky breath, still standing close to Jounouchi. “U-Um…”

She trailed off, seemingly unable to find words, and gave a tiny, tentative wave. 

Atem, looking nervous, waved back with equal hesitation.  _ “Um, hi… I’m, uh, Pharaoh Atem. I’ll spare you the full titulary,”  _ he introduced himself.  _ “I’m really sorry I scared you, I didn’t mean to! I promise I won’t hurt you or anything, so, uh… Nice to meet you,”  _ he finished awkwardly. 

Shizuka blinked, frozen in place as if not sure what to do, glancing towards Jounouchi for some sort of indication. Finally, she nodded. 

“Um… Sh-Shizuka Kawai…Uh, nice to meet you too,” she replied quietly. 

“Aw, shit, I left the fridge open,” Jounouchi realized.

As Jounouchi got a snack together, Shizuka stood nervously behind him, while Atem fidgeted uncomfortably at the table with a guilty expression. 

Jounouchi frowned as he noticed the tension between the two of them. “Come on, I promise Atem’s really not that scary,” he insisted as he put a plate of rice balls down on the table. “I mean, look at him! He’s the size of a chihuahua!” he laughed. 

Atem put his hands on his hips.  _ “Hey! I’ll have you know I- ...Don’t like it when people make fun of my height,”  _ he finished awkwardly, realizing that one of his typical hollow death threats was probably not the best choice at the moment. 

“Sorry, bro, didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Shizuka took a deep breath. “Y-You’re right. I shouldn’t be scared,” she decided. Slowly, hesitantly, she sat down at the table next to Jounouchi, across from Atem. 

Atem gave a silent wave from across the table. Shizuka paused a moment before waving back, still hesitant, but looking a tiny bit more confident.

“So, uh… I guess I should explain this whole thing, huh,” Jounouchi realized. 

_ “That… Might be a good idea, yes,”  _ Atem agreed awkwardly.

Jounouchi nodded. “Right, so, uhhh… Shizuka, you remember my friend Yuugi?” he began. 

“Of course,” Shizuka replied. 

“Right, ok, so… Long story short, uh, Yuugi’s grandpa gave him a cursed necklace with a ghost in it ‘cause it was stolen from a pharaoh’s tomb, but then it turned out the pharaoh’s just a kid and also a pretty chill dude who likes games, so… Now we’re friends, right? And Yuugi’s on vacation but his mom said he can’t take his freaky cursed Egyptian necklace with him, so Atem’s staying with me and we’re having a sleepover ‘cause we’re friends,” he finished. 

_ “You left out a few things, and I wouldn’t call the Millennium Puzzle cursed, but… Close enough,”  _ Atem decided with a shrug. 

“Oh… I see,” Shizuka said. “But, um… If you’re here haunting your necklace, doesn’t that mean you’re a vengeful ghost?” she questioned quietly, looking nervous again. 

Atem shook his head.  _ “Not really. I’m only here because I have no choice in the matter. And yeah, I am angry that my Millennium Puzzle was stolen, but… Yuugi and his friends didn’t have anything to do with that, so it’d be unforgivably cruel for me to take it out on them,”  _ he explained.  _ “In all honesty, all I really want is to go home.” _

“Oh.”

“See? I told you. Nothing to worry about, sis,” Jounouchi assured Shizuka with a thumbs-up. “Atem’s just like any other guy, just, yknow, three thousand years old and intangible and he talks kinda weird. No offense, of course,” he added. 

Atem sighed.  _ “None taken… I’m just grateful I can understand Japanese at all,”  _ he muttered. 

“I think I understand now,” Shizuka decided. “I’m sorry I misjudged you, Pharaoh.”

_ “Oh, you don’t have to call me that,”  _ Atem replied, shaking his head.  _ “It’s alright though, I understand. I’m sorry I scared you.” _

“That’s ok.”

Jounouchi grinned widely, glad to see the situation had resolved itself.

“So, um… You’re having a sleepover with my brother?” Shizuka questioned after a moment. 

_ “That’s right. I normally stay with Yuugi, but his mom said he couldn’t bring the Millennium Puzzle with him on vacation, and he didn’t want me to be alone for so long,”  _ Atem explained.  _ “Jounouchi-kun was kind enough to invite me to spend the weekend with him, so here I am.” _

“We’re gonna have so much fun!” Jounouchi declared. “Before you got here, I was introducing Atem to the cinematic masterpieces of the modern era.”

_ “He didn’t want to answer the door because he thought you might be a dinosaur,”  _ Atem said flatly.

“Heeey!” Jounouchi whined, looking offended. “You were scared too!”

Atem turned away, feigning apathy.  _ “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” _

“Sure you don’t, you liar.”

Atem laughed slightly, but said nothing.

The room was quiet for a few minutes, as Jounouchi and Shizuka ate their onigiri. Atem glanced around thoughtfully. 

_ “Um, Shizuka-kun-” _

“Shizuka- _ chan,”  _ Jounouchi corrected him through a mouthful of rice. 

_ “Ah, ok. Shizuka-chan, you drew all those pictures on the wall, right?”  _ Atem asked. 

“Yeah, I did,” Shizuka answered with a nod. 

_ “They’re really nice! You’re a very good artist,”  _ Atem told her sincerely. 

Shizuka smiled brightly, pleasantly surprised. “Thank you, I’m glad you like them! I still have a long way to go, though. Some of these are kind of embarrassing,” she admitted with a nervous laugh. 

Atem shook his head.  _ “I think they’re all great. You should be proud of your work.” _

“Yeah, Atem’s right! Your art is the coolest!” Jounouchi agreed enthusiastically. 

Shizuka blushed slightly, reaching for another rice ball. “You two are sweet.”

As Jounouchi and Shizuka snacked, Atem played idly with the yo-yo, rolling it back and forth across the table with gentle mental nudges, tossing it around a bit as if it were a toy ball. Shizuka suddenly gasped as she noticed the yo-yo moving on its own, a few seconds after Atem had started playing with it.

“Are  _ you _ doing that?” she questioned in surprise.

Atem nodded.  _ “Sorry, does it bother you? I can stop if you want,”  _ he replied, pausing in his game.

“Oh no, not at all! I was just surprised, that’s all,” Shizuka assured him, shaking her head.

Upon hearing this, Atem immediately resumed playing with the yo-yo, watching with fascination and a subdued smile as it rolled and bounced around. 

“You sure do like that thing, huh?” Jounouchi commented in amusement, raising an eyebrow. 

_ “I am easily entertained,”  _ Atem replied cheerfully. 

After a moment, as Atem continued to toss the yo-yo around, Shizuka cleared her throat quietly, before hesitantly speaking.

“Um… Atem-san, could I ask you a question?”

_ “Of course,”  _ Atem replied, putting the yo-yo down gently.  _ “What is it?” _

“Um… Well, I hope this isn’t a weird question or anything, but… W-Would it be ok for me to draw you?” she asked nervously. “Um, I mean, if you’d rather not that’s ok, I just thought-”

Atem’s eyes widened in excitement.  _ “Oh, sure! I’d love that,”  _ he replied, nodding enthusiastically. 

“Really? Great! Thanks!” Shizuka exclaimed, breaking out into a bright smile; She reached over towards one side of the table where some school supplies lay in a pile, grabbing a pencil and looking through a stack of papers until she found a blank one. “I can use this, right?” she asked. 

“Yeah, sure,” Jounouchi confirmed.

_ “Um… Did you want me to do something in particular, or..?” _

“Oh no, don’t mind me, just keep doing whatever you like,” Shizuka assured him as she began sketching. “Oh yeah, big brother- Did I tell you? Duel Monsters got banned at my school,” she added, changing the subject. 

Jounouchi practically flinched in shock. “What? Why?!”

“People were playing with a rule that if you win, you get to keep the loser’s cards,” Shizuka explained, frowning. “Apparently it got to be so bad that fights were breaking out over it, and kids were neglecting their work.”

“Geez…”

_ “That’s horrible. Nobody should be taking anyone else’s cards,”  _ Atem insisted, shaking his head in disappointment. 

“Yeah, who the hell plays like that? That’s ridiculous. It’s just a game,” Jounouchi said in bafflement. “I’m glad all the duelists at our school are reasonable people… Right, Atem?”

_ “Right.” _

“So it really isn’t normal, then?” Shizuka gasped. “I thought it sounded strange, but I don’t know much about Duel Monsters, and the duelists in my class said everyone plays like that… I was a little worried about you…”

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah, I dunno where they came up with that idea, but it’s definitely not normal. You don’t have to worry about me, though,” he assured her, smiling confidently. “I’m way too good of a duelist to ever lose my cards!”

_ “Yes. Your brother is so good at Duel Monsters, he lets our friend Anzu win every time he duels her,”  _ Atem told Shizuka with a teasing grin.

“Hey, shut up!”

Atem laughed.  _ “Relax, I’m only teasing you. You actually are good, even if your strategies tend to be a bit… unconventional,”  _ he admitted. 

“You sure seem to know a lot about Duel Monsters, Atem-san,” Shizuka commented. “I’m surprised, considering it’s such a modern game.”

_ “Well Yuugi’s really good at it, and he lives in a game shop, so I wind up hearing about it a lot. And I’ve always been good at games, so once Yuugi taught me the rules, I picked up the strategy fairly quickly,”  _ he explained. 

“The craziest part is, he can’t even read,” Jounouchi said, shaking his head in disbelief.

_ “I’m learning!”  _ Atem insisted, sounding slightly offended.  _ “I can mostly read kana now, it just… takes me a while. But I do my best.” _

“Yeah, but you had your deck memorized word for word within, like, a month,” Jounouchi pointed out. “I don’t know how the hell you can do that… Your memory’s crazy, dude, I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast!” he exclaimed, almost whining slightly.

Atem shrugged in response, not really sure how to answer. 

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but otherwise said nothing. He instead turned his attention towards Shizuka, glancing curiously over her shoulder.

“Oooooh, cool.”

“Mm… I can’t seem to get the eyes right,” Shizuka confessed, frowning as she erased a portion of the drawing. 

Jounouchi put a hand on his chin thoughtfully as he studied the drawing, trying to see what Shizuka saw, pondering how to correct it. 

“...Ok, you remember how mom’s old cat used to like to knock stuff off the kitchen counter?” he began. 

“Uh, yeah?” Shizuka said confusedly. 

“You remember that face she would make when she could see someone was watching, and she knew that they knew that  _ she _ knew she wasn’t supposed to do that, and she’d look right at you and make that face right as she pushed stuff over?”

“...Yeah..?”

“Draw it like that,” Jounouchi finished, with a confident, resolute nod. 

(Atem frowned concernedly, both eyebrows raised, wondering just what the hell his dear modern friend thought about him anyway.)

Shizuka blinked in confusion. “Um… Thanks for the suggestion, big brother, but now that I look at it I think they were just too far up on the head,” she replied slowly. 

“Oh, yeah, I think you’re right,” Jounouchi realized. “Hey, you should give him cool sunglasses!”

Shizuka snorted. “No way! That’d look silly.”

“Do it! Ooh, or maybe whiskers like Naruto,” he suggested with a laugh. 

_ “Believe it,”  _ Atem replied, almost automatically. 

“Believe it!” Jounouchi repeated enthusiastically. 

_ “Believe it!” _

“Narutooooooo!”

_ “Sasukeeeeeeee!” _

“Belieeeeeve it!”

“It’s hard to believe you’re really three thousand years old,” Shizuka interrupted, raising both eyebrows in amusement at the exchange. 

“You can’t  _ believe it,  _ you say?”

_ “Oh, I know. Everyone tells me I don’t look a day over two thousand nine hundred,”  _ Atem replied, tossing his hair as he feigned vanity.

“What’s your secret?” Jounouchi jokingly wondered. 

_ “Oh, you know. Castor oil, a healthy diet, the blood of human sacrifices… I’m kidding, by the way. We don’t do human sacrifices,”  _ he added as a disclaimer. 

“But you were totally serious about the rest of your ghostly skin care routine.”

_ “Totally.” _

Shizuka laughed as she looked over her drawing, searching for imperfections. Jounouchi watched curiously as she added the finishing touches- erasing a mark here, tightening up a line there, until finally she nodded in satisfaction. She signed her name in neat, small letters at the bottom, and then announced, “Done!”

Atem gasped in excitement as Shizuka turned the paper around to show him. 

The drawing depicted him from the waist up at a three-quarters angle, smiling softly, holding out both hands open in front of him as the yo-yo floated just above them; It was rendered in the same semi-cartoony style as Shizuka’s other drawings, with rounded, delicate anatomy and features, a pointed nose; Hair that stuck out every which way, face framed by softly curled bangs; Eyes that somehow managed to be just as sharp and angular as they were soft and bright, and to add to the cute effect, a lightly shaded blush across both cheeks.

_ “I love it,”  _ he whispered in awe.  _ “Shizuka-chan, you’re the best artist I’ve ever seen!” _

“Right?!” Jounouchi agreed. 

Shizuka gave a slight nervous laugh, twirling her hair around her finger. “Ah, that’s very sweet of you, but you can be honest,” she said with an apologetic tilt of the head. “Like, if you’re a pharaoh, I’m sure there must be a lot of portraits of you made by real artists, right? I-I mean, this is just a little sketch, I’m not a professional or anything, I’m still learning,” she rambled on nervously. 

_“Yeah, but Egyptian art is so_ ** _boring,”_** Atem answered. _“Everyone’s always in the same stupid pose that nobody even does in real life, everyone’s got the exact same proportions regardless of how they look in real life… Your art isn’t like that. You draw people like real life, only prettier,”_ he told her with a nod.

Shizuka went quiet, seemingly at a loss for words. After a moment, Jounouchi gave her an affectionate pat on the back.

“See, Shizuka? I keep telling you, you gotta have more confidence in your art,” he said, gentle yet firm. 

Shizuka nodded hesitantly, still evidently a little bit shellshocked from all the praise. “Y-Yeah… Thank you. I-”

Before Shizuka could finish, the sound of muffled electronic music suddenly interrupted the conversation, seemingly coming from the entry hall. 

_ “What is  _ **_that?”_ ** Atem wondered, frowning in bafflement at this sudden mysterious music.

“Oh, that’s my phone,” Shizuka realized. “I’ll be right back.”

She stood up and hurried over to the entryway, disappearing behind the small wall that divided it from the main room. Atem and Jounouchi heard the sound of a zipper being opened, followed by “Hello? ...Hi, mom. ...Oh, ok. ...Yup, see you. Bye mom.”

Shizuka emerged from the hall a moment after that. “Mom said she’s picking me up in ten minutes,” she announced, sounding a bit apologetic. 

“Already?” Jounouchi sighed. “Ah well… At least we got to hang out for a little while, I guess,” he muttered. 

There was an air of quiet disappointment as Shizuka sat back down, with nobody quite sure what to say. After a moment, she picked up the pencil again, and began adding something to the drawing. 

“Oh, are you finally adding those cool shades I suggested?” Jounouchi asked, grinning cheekily. 

Shizuka laughed and shook her head. “No, no. I’m just adding a little decoration,” she explained. 

Atem watched with patient curiousity from the other side of the table as Shizuka sketched, wondering what she was drawing. Finally, after a minute or two, she turned the drawing around.

Atem slowly, silently read the blocky, cartoony text she’d added at the top of the drawing: “A-te-mu-”

_ “What does this one say?”  _ he asked out loud, pointing to the character at the far right. 

“It says ‘king’,” Shizuka answered. “I thought it would look nicer than just writing ‘pharaoh’.”

_ “Ooh, cool.” _

Jounouchi stared at the name, and then at Atem, tilting his head and putting a hand on his cheek as if thinking hard about something. “Y’know, now I’m curious… How do you write your name in hieroglyphs?” he wondered. 

_ “Here, I’ll show you,”  _ Atem decided. He took another piece of paper from the pile, picked up the pencil, and- 

_ “Ah,”  _ he exclaimed softly as the pencil fell through his hand, just as he’d started moving it. He tried again, and accidentally dropped it once more.  _ “Let me just-” _

Again the pencil fell, and a fourth time, and a fifth. Seconds passed by, and all Atem had to show for it was a handful of barely-visible dash marks; He huffed in irritation, and put the pencil down.

_ “Guess I’ll have to try this way,”  _ he muttered, and crossed his arms, staring at the pencil.

Jounouchi and Shizuka watched in awe as the pencil seemingly moved on its own, gliding across the page with jerky, wobbly movements, while Atem stared in tense concentration- teeth clenched, brow furrowed, eyes unblinking, practically his entire body tensed up as he focused on controlling the pencil. Finally, he let the pencil drop. 

Jounouchi and Shizuka leaned over the table, staring at the mass of squiggles on the paper.

Atem stared along with them.

The squiggles did not reveal any secrets.

_ “...Well that sure is completely illegible,” _ Atem realized with a slow nod.

“Is that a… tree and a cow?” Jounouchi guessed tentatively, squinting at the barely-visible markings.

_ “It’s supposed to be a vulture and a sled, but…”  _ Atem trailed off as he stared at the paper with a blank, neutral expression, having cycled through all five stages of grief within about two seconds, leaving him devoid of any feelings towards his poor penmanship.

Jounouchi gave a slow nod of understanding.

“Hmm… I should probably get going now,” Shizuka realized, glancing at the clock on the wall. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Jounouchi sighed. “I’ll walk you out, yeah?”

Shizuka nodded as she stood up. “Sure, thanks.”

_ “Um… Would it be alright for me to keep the drawing?”  _ Atem asked, gesturing to the table as Shizuka made her way towards the entry hall.

“Oh, um, sure, if you want to,” Shizuka answered a little bit confusedly, looking surprised. 

Atem beamed.  _ “Thank you so much! It’s a beautiful drawing, I can’t want to show it to Yuugi when he gets back!” _

Shizuka gave a slight nervous laugh as she picked up her backpack. “Well, I’m glad you like it,” she answered honestly, and then turned back around to face him. “Bye, Atem-san, it was, uh… Nice meeting you? I’ve never met a ghost before… Or a pharaoh, for that matter,” she added with a thoughtful frown. 

_ “Well, now you have,”  _ Atem replied with a shrug.  _ “It was nice meeting you too. Thank you for the drawing.” _

“Oh, no problem!”

Jounouchi smiled as he unlocked the door. “I’m glad you two get along, I was so worried when Shizuka touched the Millennium Puzzle,” he recalled, shaking his head at the thought of how things might have gone. 

“Well, I was definitely scared at first,” Shizuka admitted with an apologetic tilt of the head. “But I’m glad things turned out well, too.”

_ “Sorry I scared you,”  _ Atem apologized yet again. 

Shizuka simply laughed as she headed towards the door. “It’s ok. See you around, have fun with your sleepover,” she said with a wave goodbye.

_ “Goodbye, Shizuka-chan,”  _ Atem replied, waving back.

“Back in a few minutes,” Jounouchi assured Atem as he shut the door behind them. 

The small apartment was quiet for a while after Jounouchi and Shizuka left, with the only sound in the room being the gentle hum of electronics, the ticking of the clock, and the occasional muffled noise from outside. Atem drifted back over to the table, patiently awaiting Jounouchi’s return. As he waited, he took another look at Shizuka’s drawing, an anime-styled rendition of his own face staring back at him from the paper.

It felt… Nice, somehow, to see a depiction of himself in the modern era. Yuugi had introduced him long ago to the concept of cameras and photographs, but Atem never appeared in any of them as more than a barely-visible blur, rendering him invisible to the material record; Shizuka’s drawing, however, was clear as day. Real. Tangible. In a way, it was proof of his existence, more permanent and visible to the world than the words of the few people who could see him.

He was lucky, he realized, for the acknowledgement he received from his new friends. He’d grown up hearing so many sad stories of ghosts like Nebusemekh, who always wound up helpless and ignored by the living, but so far he’d managed to avoid that fate. Even though he had no body, no history, no home, family, job, money, or purpose, Yuugi’s friends treated Atem no differently from anyone else. They talked to him, and listened to him; They always said hello and goodbye to him, and always took account of his input when making group decisions; They invited him to play games with them, left space at the table for him, and Yuugi had even been kind enough to help him build his own Duel Monsters deck, assuring him that the cards in it belonged to  _ him _ and no one else- not even Yuugi, who had given him the cards. Aside from the Millennium Puzzle, his deck was the one thing Atem owned in the modern era.

Even though they had no reason to even so much as talk to him aside from the threats he made, Yuugi and the others had been more than generous in welcoming Atem into their friend group. He was grateful for that.

Eventually, Atem’s rather existential train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Jounouchi seemed rather cheerful, smiling and swinging his arms a bit as he walked in. 

“That was a nice surprise, huh?” he said as he sat down.

Atem nodded.  _ “Yes. Your sister is very cute.” _

“Hey! Don’t be hitting on my sister, bro! Come on!” Jounouchi exclaimed, looking simultaneously offended and disgusted.

_ “I didn’t mean it like that!”  _ Atem insisted quickly, shaking his head and waving his hands in denial.  _ “I meant she’s cute like, like… You know, like Kirby, or a baby puppy, or something. You know, endearing,”  _ he explained.

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a brief moment before relaxing. “Alright, yeah. You’re right about that. Sorry, I forgot you’re not like  _ Honda,”  _ he muttered, rolling his eyes and scowling at the memory of the last time he’d introduced his sister to one of his friends.

Atem shook his head once again.  _ “No way. Besides, you know I’m… Uh, whatever that word you said was,”  _ he added, frowning in confusion.

“Aromantic?” Jounouchi suggested.

_ “Yes, that.” _

Jounouchi paused, suddenly becoming more quiet, a contemplative expression on his face.

“...It’s… hard to say the word sometimes,” he said softly after a moment.

Atem frowned sadly, and almost reached out to put a hand on Jounouchi’s shoulder, before realizing it would be a futile gesture.  _ “I’m sorry. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess,”  _ he muttered.  _ “At least we have each other, though.” _

“Yeah…” Jounouchi sighed. “Uh, anyway… You wanna finish the movie? And then we can watch Star Wars or Godzilla or something after that,” he suggested, awkwardly trying to steer the conversation away from its sudden rather dark turn.

_ “Oh yeah, I forgot all about that!” _ Atem realized.  _ “Let’s finish it. I want to see who’s gonna get eaten.” _

Jounouchi nodded, hit the play button on the VCR, settled down on the floor by the table, and- Practically jumped, along with Atem, as the terrifying kitchen scene resumed right where it had left off.

* * *

“Draw two,” Jounouchi announced, putting the card down in front of him with a sense of victoriousness. “Scared yet, Atem?”

Atem simply smirked as he picked up the cards, meeting Jounouchi’s gaze with knowing confidence.  _ “You’re the one who should be scared, Jounouchi-kun. Know why?” _

“Why?”

_ “Because I,”  _ Atem began, dragging out his answer with tantalizingly slow smugness,  _ “Am changing the color… To yellow.”  _ He gave a slight haughty nod as he threw the card down on the floor, grinning at Jounouchi with brutal self-satisfaction.  _ “Oh, and by the way, draw four.” _

“Oh, you cheating motherfucker!” Jounouchi shouted, taking a dive at Atem. “You’re lucky you’re already dead, or I’d kill you myself!”

Atem laughed as Jounouchi fell through him, landing flat on the floor and scattering Uno cards everywhere.  _ “I’d like to see you try!”  _

“Alright, let’s go! Square up, Kitaro!” Jounouchi declared, pushing himself up off the floor and into a joking fighting stance.

_ “Good luck with that,  _ **_everyone_ ** _ knows ghost types are immune to fighting,”  _ Atem teased, sticking his tongue out at Jounouchi. 

Jounouchi stuck his tongue out right back at Atem, bobbling his head slightly with a “nyeeeh” sound for emphasis. Atem mimicked the gesture, and Jounouchi repeated it with further exaggeration, both of them trying to out-“nyeh” each other until Jounouchi suddenly announced, “Hey, we should watch Ghostbusters!”

_ “Isn’t it kinda late to start another movie?”  _ Atem pointed out, instantly relaxing as if their energetic banter had never happened.

Jounouchi blinked, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Holy shit, how is it midnight already?!” he gasped in surprise.

_ “Well, we are on our fourth round of Uno…” _

“Yeah, and you’ve won all of them,” Jounouchi grumbled, sighing slightly. “Guess you really are King of Games, geez.”

Atem gave Jounouchi a sympathetic look. “Hey, cheer up. You did beat me at Parcheesi,” he pointed out. 

“Yeah, I guess that is true. I got some pretty lucky rolls there, if I hadn’t gotten that six towards the end I would’ve been doomed,” Jounouchi admitted. 

Atem looked at Jounouchi thoughtfully for a moment, recalling the roll in question. It wasn’t the first time Jounouchi had pulled off a difficult roll at a key moment in a game; His luck with dice rolling in a pinch was uncanny, making it feel almost as if he’d been blessed by some sort of dice god- 

...Wait a minute. Or maybe… 

“What?”

_ “Hm? What what?”  _ Atem responded in mild surprise, having been distracted.

“You’re looking at me funny,” Jounouchi told him. 

Atem gave a knowing smile.  _ “Oh, I was just thinking about something… I think you might have some hidden talents.” _

“...What does that  _ mean?” _ Jounouchi wondered, narrowing his eyes at this cryptic answer. 

_ “Oh, nothing.” _

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “Ooookay…” he said confusedly. “You’re a weird guy, you know that?”

_ “Never would have guessed.” _

Jounouchi gave an amused snort. “Well, anyway, I should probably get ready for bed,” he admitted, stretching out lazily. “Uh, you said you don’t sleep, right? Will you be ok? Do you want me to, like, leave the TV on or something?” he asked as he dug through the basket of laundry in the closet, in search of a pair of pajamas.

Atem shook his head.  _ “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine. I’m plenty used to long nights by now. I’ll find something to do, don’t worry about me,”  _ he answered with a reassuring smile. 

“Alright, if you’re sure. If you decide you want to watch TV or something, though, feel free- I’m a pretty heavy sleeper,” Jounouchi insisted as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head. “Although I… have no idea what kind of stuff is on TV in the middle of the night.”

With that, Jounouchi yawned and headed over to the futon by the window. He straightened it out a bit, switched the light off, lifted up the blankets, and lay down.

“Alright… Night, Atem.”

Atem smiled softly at Jounouchi.  _ “Goodnight, Jounouchi-kun. Sleep well.” _

* * *

The clock on the wall seemed to tick tantalizingly slowly as Jounouchi lay awake, staring blankly at the wall, feeling simultaneously drowsy and incredibly alert.

It was a common problem for him; He’d try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, feeling sleepy, but the moment the lights went out and his head hit the pillow he’d feel more awake than he’d ever been, mind racing with ideas about his next D&D character and how to counter Anzu’s tool deck and what might happen on the next episode of his favorite TV show and oh he finally figured out how to deal with that math thing he was having trouble with, he’d definitely have to go do that first thing in the morning and maybe he should have just stayed up a bit later to tire himself out and  _ yureru mawaru fureru setsunai kimochi, futari de issho ni nemuru winterland, anata dake mitsumete- _

And he was still fucking awake. And it had been over an hour. 

Jounouchi sighed deeply, rolling over onto his back with a flop, one arm stretched out to his side, his other hand resting on his stomach.

“I can’t sleep,” he muttered, finally admitting this after over an hour of pretending to be asleep.

Atem paused for a moment, glancing up from the book he had been (slowly, but surely) reading, lying on his stomach with his chin in his hands. 

_ “Why? Is something wrong?”  _ he asked, frowning in concern at Jounouchi. 

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah, this just… Happens to me a lot. I’m terrible at sleeping, I dunno why,” he explained. 

Atem bit his lip.  _ “Oh. I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?” _

“Probably not, I’m just bored,” Jounouchi admitted as he sat up, groaning sleepily and stretching out his neck a bit. “Whatcha reading?”

_ “Jojo,”  _ Atem answered, scooting closer to Jounouchi on the floor. 

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow in interest, glancing over Atem’s shoulder. “Oh yeah? You like that one?”

Atem nodded with an enthusiastic smile.  _ “Yes, it’s very dramatic. I like it,”  _ Atem confirmed.  _ “When does Caesar come back, though?” _

“Huh?”

_ “Caesar- You know, Jojo’s friend who gave him his headband? When does he come back?”  _ Atem repeated innocently. 

“He… doesn’t?” Jounouchi replied, frowning in confusion. “He’s dead, dude, that’s it. He’s not coming back,” he insisted.

Atem blinked, face falling to a disappointed frown.  _ “Oh. I… had kinda assumed he comes back to haunt the Pillar Men,”  _ he admitted. 

Jounouchi gave an amused snort. “Interesting idea, but no. He’s just dead.”

_ “Well, that’s stupid. We should make a new Jojo that’s better than this one,”  _ Atem decided.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying we should write a Jojo doujinshi because you don’t like how the manga ends?”

_ “If that’s the word for such a thing, then yes.” _

To Atem’s surprise, Jounouchi suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. He continued to laugh so hard he fell over backwards, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.

Atem frowned in confusion at this.  _ “Um… Are you ok..?”  _ he questioned concernedly.

Jounouchi gave a shaky, silent nod, still overwhelmed with laughter. “Y-Ye- Yeah, I’m-” he stammered between giggles, before once again becoming unable to get a word out. After a few minutes, he calmed down a bit, taking several deep breaths and sitting up- And then he looked at Atem, and immediately started laughing once again, falling backwards again and flailing his limbs around in hysterical laughter.

Atem couldn’t help but laugh a little too, though more at Jounouchi himself than whatever it was Jounouchi apparently found so funny.  _ “You have issues, bro,”  _ Atem told him, though there was nothing but affection in his voice, as he raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Jounouchi said nothing as he continued to laugh and roll around on the floor, until he’d finally laughed all he could, slowing from an endless barrage of giggles to a handful of quiet snickers. He gave a deep, satisfied sigh, and let his arms and legs fall to the floor like a rag doll. 

“God… I’m gonna miss you when you leave,” he said quietly from where he lay on the floor, exhausted; Though he was smiling, his statement one of wistful affection more than anything, Atem couldn’t help but notice a tiny hint of sadness in his voice.

_ “But you’ll still see me almost every day,”  _ Atem pointed out, frowning slightly.  _ “And maybe we could have another sleepover sometime. We could even invite Yuugi!”  _ he suggested. 

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah, I meant when you…  _ leave _ -leave,” he clarified. “You know. When you go back to… Dead people land, or whatever.”

_ “I’ll come visit you,”  _ Atem promised quickly.  _ “You and Yuugi and the others… You’re my friends, you know? It would be ridiculous for me to just ditch you forever the moment I’m no longer reliant on you. I love you guys,”  _ he insisted, with full sincerity in his voice. 

Jounouchi blinked in surprise. “Oh yeah, I forgot you can do that… Glad to hear it,” he said in relief, and then paused for a moment, before sitting up slightly. “Hey, speaking of which, I’ve been wondering… What’s it like being dead?” he asked curiously. 

Atem took a moment to think about it before answering. It suddenly struck Jounouchi just how strange the whole thing really was, talking to a ghost in the middle of the night. There was an odd vagueness to his form in the darkness, being simultaneously translucent and seemingly unaffected by lighting; His complexion seemed just as pale as it was tan, and there was a bizarre contrast between his spectral hand and the very physical book that lay underneath it, just barely visible in the faint moonlight. (Jounouchi suddenly realized that Atem must have been able to see in the dark, if he could read in such conditions, and somehow his first thought was that they all needed to play laser tag ASAP.)

_ “...It’s… Nice, I guess. Not much different from being alive, to be honest,”  _ Atem answered after a minute, shrugging.  _ “‘Dead People Land’, as you put it- It’s called Aaru, and it’s like a big marsh, where everyone lives on little islands,”  _ he explained.  _ “You can go anywhere, do whatever you want, for the most part… You don’t have to do any work, you never have to worry about not having what you need, the weather is never too hot or too cold, you don’t get sick or hurt… It’s nice.”  _ He shrugged once again, speaking with a fairly neutral tone. 

“You don’t sound all that enthusiastic about it,” Jounouchi observed, giving Atem a questioning look. 

Atem paused, looking as if he was about to say something- And then went quiet, dropping his gaze to the floor, looking conflicted.

_ “...Can I tell you something?”  _ he asked after a moment, quiet and hesitant, uncertain. 

“Yeah, of course. You can tell me anything, bro,” Jounouchi assured him. 

_ “Promise you won’t tell anyone?” _

“Promise.”

Atem paused once again, taking a deep “breath” before continuing. 

_ “I’m… A little bit conflicted about going home,”  _ he confessed.

Jounouchi frowned worriedly. “Why? Do you not like it there?”

_ “No, I do,”  _ Atem assured him.  _ “I mean, of course I want to go home. Japan is nice and all, but it’s not where I belong. I miss my family and friends, and my pets, and my house… but…”  _ he sighed.  _ “The one thing I don’t miss is how I’m treated.” _

“What, why?! Are people mean to you?!” Jounouchi exclaimed, suddenly sitting up straighter, as if ready for a fight. “I’ll kick all their asses-”

_ “No, it’s nothing like that! Nobody’s mean to me, really!”  _ Atem clarified quickly, shaking his head.  _ “It’s just… Ugh, I don’t know how to put this…”  _ he sighed, biting his lip.  _ “...Look, the fact is, I died young. There’s no getting around that. Way younger than most people- the youngest person I know is 32- and it’s not like anyone necessarily treats me _ **_badly_ ** _ per se, they just… I mean, I’m sure you know what it’s like talking to adults, right?”  _ he said, not quite sure how to describe things himself.

“They don’t take you seriously?” Jounouchi guessed gently.

Atem nodded.  _ “Something like that. My friends and family love me, I know they do, but they all either treat me like a child, or they try  _ **_too_ ** _ hard to treat me like an adult, which…”  _ he shook his head in disdain.  _ “The fact is I’m  _ **_not_ ** _ an adult, and I never will be, no matter how much I try to act like it. It’s… isolating. And I…” _

Atem paused once again, turning away slightly. Even in the darkness, Jounouchi could see the way he trembled, the way his face scrunched up in anticipation of tears…

Jounouchi gently placed a hand next to Atem’s, a quiet gesture of solidarity in lieu of physical contact. Atem moved his own hand a little bit closer in silent acknowledgement, before taking a deep breath and continuing.

_ “...My best friend, Mana… We grew up together. We were always on the same page, she always understood me better than anyone else. But…”  _ Atem’s voice trembled as he fought back the beginnings of a sob.  _ “She grew up, and I… didn’t. She was 60 when she died. I’m more like a little brother than a best friend to her now, and I… I don’t… I haven’t had friends my own age in- in three thousand years- I don’t even kn-know how I’m supposed to, to act or- and I just- I don’t want to go back to being alone,”  _ he finally stammered out, and buried his face in his hands, finally succumbing to his emotions.

Jounouchi’s face fell as he watched Atem, wishing he could do more to comfort him. Atem’s confession made lot of sense; He thought back to the strange way Atem had behaved at first, slightly standoffish and commanding, never  _ too _ excited about anything, always formal in his speech, quick to anger if anyone questioned his authority or capabilities… Jounouchi had always chalked it up to cultural differences, just the bizarre mind of a long-dead king from ancient times who couldn’t possibly know what modern commoner life was like, but as he had spent more time around them, Atem had gradually begun to relax and act more normal. His attitude was neither primitive nor out of touch with reality, Jounouchi realized; It was the attitude of a child who had trained himself to masquerade as an adult.

“Yeah, that… Explains a lot, come to think of it. I’m sorry, Atem,” he said, frowning in soft sympathy. “That must be really hard to deal with. You shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Atem nodded shakily.  _ “I-It’s not- It’s not like I have a bad life or anything, I guess… It’s just. I. It’s just really l-lonely…” _

“Yeah, but cheer up- You’re not alone anymore, see?” Jounouchi pointed out. “I mean, you said it yourself: You’ll visit us, right? You can come every  _ day  _ if you want to, man, you can stay as long as you want,” he assured him wholeheartedly. “You have a place here with us now. You’re not stuck being alone anymore.”

_ “...I… I guess that’s true… I-I don’t want to intrude or anything...”  _ Atem muttered.

“You wouldn’t be intruding at all,” Jounouchi promised. “I mean, if you were one of our classmates it’d be no different, right? And everyone likes having you around. I’d honestly miss you if I didn’t get to see you much,” he admitted.

Atem said nothing, and after a few seconds without a response, Jounouchi took this as permission to continue.

“So you can come hang out with us during the day, and chill in the afterlife at night, and it’ll be great. You get the best of both worlds. And you said your family and friends over there care about you, so I bet they’d be happy to see you make new friends your own age, too,” he added. “I think you should try not to think of it as going back to being alone, but think of it like being able to hang out with even more friends!” he suggested cheerfully.

Atem nodded slowly, wiping his eyes as he sat up a little straighter, gradually calming down.  _ “Yeah… Y-You’re right. I guess it does sound pretty nice when you put it that way,”  _ he admitted, a tiny smile fighting its way through the tears.  _ “Thank you.” _

Jounouchi grinned and gave a thumbs-up. “No problem! That’s what friends are for,” he replied with a sincere nod. “Now… Wanna see if there’s anything weird on TV for a bit?”

Atem laughed slightly at this suggestion, even as he still sniffled a little.  _ “Sure.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's notes... Lots of pop culture references this time! I'm not going to list all of them, though, only the noteworthy ones.
> 
> 1\. Honinbou Shuusaku is sort of a legendary figure in the history of go (an east Asian strategy board game). There is indeed a go museum on Innoshima, where Shuusaku was born. By the way, the total number of Hikaru no Go references in this fic is now three.
> 
> 2\. I've honestly tried to avoid complex language-based jokes and such for the most part so far, given that this fic is written in English but takes place in a Japanese setting, but I... Just couldn't resist the "bro" thing, even though there's no real Japanese equivalent. ("Aniki" is often translated as "bro", but refers to someone of higher status in like a gang or something, most of the time. It's not really what you'd call your friends.)  
> If it bothers anyone, please mentally replace the scene with something vaguely similar that makes sense in Japanese, like maybe Atem using casual dude speech instead of keigo or whatever. (Shrug)
> 
> 3\. Jounouchi lives in a type of apartment complex called a danchi. Danchi came about in the 50s when Japan- believe it or not- was having a population boom, but these days they're a lot emptier and tend to be run-down, cheap housing. Hence why Jou lives there, because it's what he can afford for the time being.
> 
> 4\. A yuurei is a Japanese ghost. They're pretty similar to western ghosts in a lot of ways, tbh.
> 
> 5\. For those of you who may be wondering what Atem was actually trying to write:
> 
> "A-tm", because fuck the canon "A-t-e-m-u" spelling, lmao.
> 
> 6\. Nebusemekh is the titular ghost of _Khonsuemheb and the Ghost,_ an ancient Egyptian ghost story dating to around 1 - 3 centuries before Atem's time. While Khonsuemheb is sympathetic towards Nebusemekh, it is mentioned that others have neglected his requests for help (Nebusemekh is trapped as a wandering spirit because his tomb collapsed), making him a little bit wary of Khonsuemheb. Hopefully he gets a happy ending, but the full story has never been found, so nobody knows as of yet.
> 
> 7\. "Kitaro" is a reference to Gegege no Kitaro/Hakaba Kitaro, a famous manga from the 60s that more or less launched the yokai genre.
> 
> 8\. The song Jounouchi's thinking of is Promise by Kohmi Hirose, also known as the "geddan" song from the famous Goldeneye 007 N64 glitch meme. ~~Technically this song wouldn't have come out for almost another year, but shhhh. It's 90s J-pop and that's what counts.~~


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.  
> Also, a slightly belated happy birthday to Yuugi!! A perfect boy... I love him so much aaaaaaaaaaa

Jounouchi slept quite solidly through most of Saturday morning, exhausted by the excitement of the previous day and the late night; Several times throughout the morning he began to regain some consciousness, and had the thought that he should probably get up (though not always the most sensible thoughts, more like “I have to get up or I’ll miss school,” or “Clearly it must be 3 P.M., I should get up”), but found himself lacking the willpower to drag himself out of bed, and soon fell back asleep each time. Eventually, he managed to slowly come to a more fully aware state, and at first decided that being awake was terrible and he was going to go back to sleep for as long as possible- Until he suddenly remembered he had a friend over, and his eyes instantly snapped open, full of eager excitement to start the day.

He sat up abruptly, and then staggered from the sudden blood rush; Evidently his body was not yet quite as awake as his mind felt. 

_ “Good morning,”  _ Atem said cheerfully, looking far more awake than Jounouchi. 

“Ngh… Morning,” Jounouchi replied sleepily. “Uh, wha… What time is it?” He slurred, yawning slightly. 

_ “It’s about…”  _ Atem glanced at the clock, pausing for a second or two to decode it.  _ “It’s a little after eleven.” _

Jounouchi nodded, and slowly stood up, rubbing his eyes and stretching out his drowsy limbs. As he stood up, he noticed a large, slightly precarious-looking tower of Uno cards taking up most of the table. 

“How long did that take you?” he wondered, nodding towards the tower.

_ “About four hours or so,”  _ Atem replied casually.  _ “It fell over a few times.” _

Jounouchi raised both eyebrows in surprise and awe as he began his morning routine, opening the fridge to make breakfast. “Four hours? Geez…”

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Jounouchi began cooking breakfast, with the sound of sizzling eggs filling in the quiet. Jounouchi yawned once again, as Atem leaned casually against the end of the counter. 

_ “Did you know you talk in your sleep?” _ Atem began, a gentle amused, teasing hint to his voice and expression.

Jounouchi nodded, with a slight knowing huff. “Yeah, why? Did I say something weird?”

_ “Well, at one point you sat up and looked at me and said, ‘This is why you don’t have any thumbs,’”  _ Atem recounted, crossing his arms and scowling in an exaggerated impression of Jounouchi’s condescending, sarcastic tone.  _ “So I said, ‘But I  _ **_do_ ** _ have thumbs.’ To which you replied, ‘That’s what I thought you’d say, you stupid fucking capitalist,’ and then you went back to sleep.”  _ Atem shrugged as he finished his story, clearly having no real explanation for the incident. 

Jounouchi burst out laughing. “What?!” he exclaimed, completely baffled by the absurdity of Atem’s story. 

_ “Your guess is as good as mine,”  _ Atem laughed, shrugging once again.  _ “Anyway, I’ll go clear the table for you.” _

As Jounouchi continued cooking, Atem returned to the main living area of the apartment, where his card tower was taking up most of the table. He crouched down by the table’s surface, held up his hand with fingers poised together at the ready, and-

With a flick of Atem’s fingers, the tower suddenly burst, as the cards he had hit at the base shot towards the center almost too quickly to see. Atem laughed with mischievous glee as cards flew everywhere, covering the surface of the table, floating to the floor like confetti, landing on furniture and sticking behind them and even sliding across the kitchen tiles. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the chaos before he began tidying up, telekinetically gathering the cards on the table into smaller piles.

“Geez, what a mess,” Jounouchi laughed as he sat down at the table with his breakfast, while Atem began collecting cards off the floor. “I’m disappointed, I was looking the other way and missed the explosion…”

_ “Well, we can always do it again later,”  _ Atem suggested, grinning.  _ “Speaking of which, what are we doing today?” _

Jounouchi paused a moment before answering, chewing his eggs and thinking. “How much of Domino City has Yuugi showed you so far?” he asked, once he’d swallowed. 

Atem tilted his head and hummed in thought.  _ “Let’s see… I’ve seen Yuugi’s neighborhood, school, the arcade, the internet cafe, a couple restaurants and stores… That’s about it,”  _ he figured, shrugging. 

“Well, the weather’s supposed to be nice and warm today, so how about we do a little exploring?” Jounouchi suggested. 

_ “Ooh, that sounds fun.” _

Jounouchi smiled. “Alright! Let me just eat and get dressed and all that, and then we can go.”

Atem nodded, and continued picking up Uno cards as Jounouchi finished his breakfast. 

* * *

The lock gave a mechanical click as Jounouchi shut the apartment door behind him, slipping one arm into the sleeve of a faded denim jacket as he did so. The Millennium Puzzle hung around his neck, resting against the center of his chest.

“Ever seen a bike?” he asked Atem as he finished pulling on his jacket. 

Atem shook his head.  _ “Not up close, no. I’ve only seen them pass by every now and then.” _

“Looks like you’re in for a treat, then,” Jounouchi announced as he grabbed the shiny green and silver bicycle that stood by the door, lifting it up from where it leaned against the wall. He kept one hand on the seat, one on the handlebars, and motioned with his chin for Atem to follow him as he began walking the bike towards the end of the corridor-like shared balcony.

_ “How does the bike stay up when it only has two wheels?”  _ Atem wondered as he followed Jounouchi through the heavy door and down the stairwell, the bike by Jounouchi’s side producing a muffled  _ bump-bump-bump _ each time it went down a step. 

Jounouchi shrugged in response, still keeping his hands on the bike. “I dunno, centrifugal force and stuff, I guess,” he replied vaguely. 

Atem nodded.  _ “Cool. I don’t know what that means.” _

“It’s, you know… Like when you spin around a lot really fast and you get pushed backwards? It’s like that,” Jounouchi explained. 

_ “How is  _ **_that_ ** _ supposed to  _ **_keep_ ** _ you from falling over?”  _ Atem questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“I dunno, maybe it doesn’t? Maybe it’s something else?” Jounouchi admitted confusedly. “All I know is once you get moving, as long as you balance it right you won’t fall over.”

_ “Huh. Weird.” _

Once they’d made it to street level, Jounouchi took his hand off the bicycle seat. He swung one leg over the bike’s frame, straddling the seat with his feet just touching the ground, both hands on the handlebars. 

“Ready to go?” He asked Atem, with a small smile of excitement. 

Atem paused for a moment, looking at the bike with curiousity, before hesitantly sitting down on the back. He sat sideways, legs hanging over one side of the wheel, his posture straight-backed and poised.

_ “Ok, I’m ready.” _

Jounouchi nodded excitedly, and put one foot on the pedal. In an instant, they were off, speeding down the street.

_ “Woah!”  _ Atem exclaimed as they got up to speed, a wide, bright-eyed smile on his face as he took in the excitement. He watched the wind blow through Jounouchi’s hair as buildings, cars, and people gradually rolled by; The bike moved fairly smoothly, a gentle vibration to it, accompanied by the soft whirring of the wheels and gears that kept it moving. They sped along at a steady pace, a bit slower than a car, but far faster than foot- and certainly fast enough to be fun. 

Jounouchi grinned, glancing over his shoulder back at Atem for a brief second. “You like it?”

_ “Yeah! This is fun!”  _ Atem replied excitedly, watching the buildings go by. 

Jounouchi laughed. “Bet you didn’t have anything like this back in Egypt, huh?” he commented. 

_ “Well we did have chariots, but those were kinda different,”  _ Atem recalled, speaking up a bit so as not to be drowned out by the wind and the bike.  _ “You have to stand up on a chariot, and you needed good horses to pull them. This seems way more convenient.” _

“I guess the tradeoff is that you have to pedal it yourself,” Jounouchi mused. 

Atem gave a thoughtful hum, realizing he’d forgotten about the limitations of the human body.  _ “Is it tiring?” _

“Eh, it depends,” Jounouchi answered honestly, shrugging as much as he was able while still maintaining his grip. “I’m in pretty good shape, and I’ve got a good bike, so I can go pretty far if I keep a reasonable pace. Going uphill or riding at top speed can get pretty tiring, though,” he admitted. 

_ “Oh, I see.” _

There was little conversation for a few minutes, both simply enjoying the ride. The weather was perfect: Sunny and beautiful, with a temperature that felt almost like spring had come early (due to a passing warm front, despite being late December). Atem took in their surroundings with interest, curious about the never-before-seen streets Jounouchi led them down. 

_ “So, where exactly are we going, anyway?”  _ Atem asked after a while, as Jounouchi slowed to a stop in front of a vending machine. 

“Down by the docks,” Jounouchi replied, hopping off the bike. “There’s some abandoned warehouses around there that are  _ way _ fun to explore. You could play some totally killer hide-and-seek in ‘em,” he explained excitedly. 

_ “That sounds fun.” _

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah, and then I figure on the way back we could hit the comic shop, see if there’s anything interesting for you to read tonight,” he suggested as he put his change into the machine. 

Atem blinked, surprised, and quickly shook his head.  _ “Oh, no, you don’t have to buy me anything! I’m fine, really,”  _ he assured Jounouchi. 

“Well I’ve been meaning to pick up some new manga anyway, since I’ve read all the stuff I have at home,” Jounouchi admitted. “So, I thought since it’s on the way we might as well stop there, and you could pick something out.”

_ “Oh, well, if you’re sure then,”  _ Atem decided, watching Jounouchi open the bottle that dropped out of the vending machine.  _ “Is that… uh…”  _ he trailed off as he nodded towards the drink, having forgotten the word. 

“Soda,” Jounouchi filled in, nodding. 

_ “Right, that was it. Soda seems so fake,” _ Atem commented. 

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow in amusement and confusion. “What do you mean, fake?”

_ “Well,  _ **_I’ve_ ** _ certainly never seen a liquid that’s perfectly clear and bright green, and if I did I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to drink it,”  _ Atem laughed.  _ “What flavor is that, anyway? Alien guts?” _

“No, it’s melon, ya melon head,” Jounouchi teased in response. “I guess I can see what you mean, though. Soda’s just colored that way to look cool.”

_ “Does it actually taste like melon, though?”  _ Atem wondered. 

...Jounouchi paused for a moment before giving a vague handwave. 

After a few minutes, he guzzled the last of his soda, tossed the bottle in the recycling bin a few feet away, and climbed back onto the bike. Atem followed suit, sitting sideways just as he had before. 

“Alright, ready?”

_ “Yup.” _

Jounouchi began pedaling, continuing in the direction they’d been going before their stop. Atem sat contentedly as they rode through the maze that was Domino City, past apartments, office buildings, and stores. 

It was a profoundly beautiful city, Atem thought, even the more run down neighborhoods; The dull concrete and steel that made up its frame was constantly tempered by carefully arranged trees, patches of soft green grass, and overgrown wildflowers (though none were currently in bloom), and all of it was tied together by shimmering glass that reflected the sky and the streets. Brightly lacquered cars passed up and down the streets like the colorful jeweled beads of a necklace, scattering light all throughout the city. Even now, in the middle of winter with most of the plants having lost their greenery, it still felt quite lively. Domino City was much like the technology of the era, Atem thought; Huge, complex, omnipresent, and a little overwhelming, yet vibrant, convenient, awe-inspiring, and great fun to watch. 

“Well, here are the docks,” Jounouchi announced as the scenery shifted, no longer any buildings directly in front of them. 

He turned to ride parallel to the harbor, where a number of boats both large and small were docked; The bright afternoon sunlight scattered playfully on the surface of the water, which was dotted by piers, buoys, large metal cranes, and the occasional offshore boat or marine birds. At one dock, a bit further down, Atem could see men unloading cargo from off a massive ship. 

_ “It feels kinda familiar,”  _ Atem commented, smiling a little wistfully as Jounouchi slowed down to watch the scenery. 

“I thought you might like it,” Jounouchi admitted, looking pleased. “You’ve probably been on a lot of boats, huh?”

Atem nodded.  _ “The Nile was the center of travel in Egypt. Our country was built around it, so any time you had to go anywhere farther north or south, you’d just go by boat,”  _ he explained.  _ “The capital city, Djanet, was right at the tip of the delta, so I’ve seen the ocean plenty of times too,”  _ he recalled with a smile. 

Jounouchi let the bike stop for a moment, staring thoughtfully out at the water. “You know… It really is kinda crazy to think about just how long people have been sailing,” he said softly. “I feel like that’s one of few things that hasn’t really changed much.”

_ “I think you’re right,”  _ Atem agreed.  _ “The aesthetics are a bit different, and our boats were usually small compared to some of these, but other than that… It’s a very familiar scene.” _

For a while, Atem and Jounouchi simply waited and watched in contemplative silence, transfixed by the beauty of the ocean and the simplicity of humanity. It wasn’t hard to imagine the docks of millennia gone by. Wooden boats tied up where steel ones currently rested; Men with darker skin and lighter clothes, walking the same way as they loaded and unloaded ships; The same sun shining overhead, the same saltwater smell. 

It was comforting to Atem, in a way; No matter how many years went by, some things would never change. People would always be people.

“Come on, wanna check out the warehouses?” Jounouchi prompted after a few minutes, nodding towards the far end of the docks.

_ “Sure.” _

Jounouchi began pedaling again, riding past the boats towards a long row of large, squat buildings with huge doors and few windows. Most seemed to be in use (albeit a bit battered), but the farther they went, the more run down they seemed, until they came to a few that were practically in ruins. A number of signs on the rusted old chain link fence proclaimed,  _ no trespassing. _

_ “Is it really ok for us to be here?”  _ Atem wondered as Jounouchi hopped off the bike, slipping it through a gap in the fence. 

“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” Jounouchi assured him. “Nobody really hangs out here during the day, and the cops don’t bother actually going inside, so I doubt anyone will see us.”

With that, Jounouchi continued on with casual confidence, Atem floating along behind him as he walked the bike into the old warehouse. 

The room they found themselves in was large and empty, with a few scattered bits of junk here and there- a rusty metal barrel, a few random pieces of lumber, some bits of broken glass. A few weeds poked through the concrete floor, near puddles that had collected where water from the recent rainfall continued to drip from holes in the roof. Light from the dirty old skylights revealed equally grungy walls, streaked with dirt, moss, and scorch marks. There was an odd sort of tranquility to the place; It was equal parts unsettling and calming, with what had once been a human product now clearly abruptly abandoned, and reclaimed by the creeping force of nature. 

_ “Woah… What happened to this place? It looks ancient,”  _ Atem said in awe, taking in the scenery with wandering eyes. 

“A bunch of the warehouses caught on fire back in ‘83,” Jounouchi explained. “Dunno if they got caught up in legal stuff or what, but one way or another they never demolished ‘em, but never refurbished them either. So, here they are.”

_ “Huh…  So that was… How long ago, again?”  _ Atem questioned, frowning slightly. 

“Well, it’s 1996 now, so that would be…” Jounouchi paused, muttering under his breath as he counted on his fingers. “About thirteen years,” he concluded.

_ “Wow. Hard to believe the place looks this decrepit after only thirteen years.” _

Jounouchi shrugged. “I mean, they did set on fire. Plus they’re right by the water, so without regular maintenance it makes sense that they’d take a lot of weather damage,” he pointed out. “Anyway, come on.”

Atem followed Jounouchi as he hopped up an open metal staircase. It was then that Atem noticed the balcony area, stealthily camouflaged against the background with nothing but a thin strip of metal grates.

“This is the catwalk,” Jounouchi told Atem as he walked across. “Pretty cool, right? This is my favorite part,” he added with a grin.

_ “Is this safe?”  _ Atem wondered, frowning slightly as he looked over the catwalk, gaze traveling from the rusted metal grate to the thin pipe railing and up to the ceiling; A number of thick cables suspended the catwalk, thankfully attached to the heavy ceiling beams and not the leaky roof itself.

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty sturdy, don’t worry,” he assured him, jumping up and down a few times for emphasis. The catwalk wobbled just slightly, but otherwise remained in place.

With that, he made his way to the other end of the catwalk, skipping playfully a bit and looking down through the grate. At the far end of the warehouse, now, he paused for a moment to look out a window in the back. (The window was mostly empty, although traces of glass panes remained along the edges, distorted from fire.)

“Check it out. You can see pretty far over the water from here,” he said, and pointed towards the horizon. “See those buildings way off in the distance there? That’s Chiba prefecture,” he explained. “Not sure which town specifically, I think maybe-”

Jounouchi paused abruptly as he glanced to the side and realized that Atem was not, as he had assumed, standing next to him. His brow furrowed as he turned and looked around in increasing confusion, finding his friend nowhere to be seen. 

“Where’d you go?” he wondered, baffled, searching his immediate vicinity. “Atem? Hello?”

Jounouchi was met only with silence. Frowning, he lifted up the Millennium Puzzle, looking beneath it as if expecting Atem to be hiding there; He then stared down the wedjat eye on the front, as if it could somehow answer him. “Atem? Bro? Where the hell-”

_ “Boo!”  _ Atem shouted, popping up out of a rusty old oil barrel. 

Jounouchi gave a decidedly un-manly shriek and jumped back in surprise, prompting Atem to laugh, a sincere and mischievous laugh of childish amusement.

_ “Haa, I got you good! You should have seen the look on your face!”  _ he cackled, pointing at Jounouchi in glee.

Jounouchi blushed bright red, shuddering slightly from the sudden adrenaline spike. “Jesus, don’t scare me like that!” he exclaimed, eyes still wide as saucers. 

Atem laughed again.  _ “Sorry, I saw the barrel and I just couldn’t resist,”  _ he explained.  _ “I love doing that.” _

“Oh, so I’m not your first victim, huh?” Jounouchi muttered bitterly as he regained his composure.

Atem shook his head.  _ “Not by far. My friend Mana and I used to hide in the big urns around the palace all the time,”  _ he recalled.  _ “One of the few perks of being small, I guess; Everyome thought we’d stop doing it once we got too big to fit, but neither of us ever did, so too bad,”  _ he said with a shrug, feigning innocence.

“You’re terrible,” Jounouchi informed him.

_ “Nah. If I wanted to be terrible, I’d have messed up my hair and crawled out of your TV in the middle of the night,”  _ Atem retorted teasingly, grinning and sticking his tongue out at Jounouchi.  _ “Anyway, what were you saying before?” _

“Oh, right,” Jounouchi gasped, blinking as he tried to recall what he’d been talking about before getting jumpscared half to death. “Uhhhhh… Oh! I remember now. So, you see those buildings over there, across the water?”

Atem walked over to the window, leaning out slightly as he looked around.  _ “Yeah.” _

“That’s Chiba, the neighboring prefecture,” Jounouchi told him. “I’m not sure which town, though, there’s a couple across from Domino. But yeah,” he finished awkwardly. 

_ “Huh… Cool,”  _ Atem replied with a thoughtful look, watching the water shimmer and wave between the two shores. 

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, wanna check out the next building?”

Atem nodded in response, and with that, Jounouchi continued on along the catwalk. He followed it out a doorway, stepping over the splintered remains of a door as he entered the neighboring building. 

The second warehouse, unlike the first, was not quite so empty. Atem looked down in awe at the piles of massive black rings, thick and hollow with grooved rims, some stacked neatly and others in haphazard piles. A few seemed to have become unexpected flowerpots, with tall weeds sprouting from under them. Many seemed slightly misshapen, evidently melted by the fire. 

_ “What  _ **_are_ ** _ those?”  _ Atem wondered with a gasp as he followed Jounouchi down the stairs.

“Tires,” Jounouchi answered. “They’re made of rubber. They go on the outside of car wheels to cushion them.”

_ “Oh, I see now,”  _ Atem said, realizing immediately how obviously identical the piles of “rings” were to the black outer rims he’d seen on cars wheels. 

Jounouchi nodded. “They still smell kinda bad, but they’re fun to climb on. Now  _ these _ would be fun for you to hide in,” he pointed out with a grin. 

_ “They smell bad?”  _ Atem repeated, surprised. 

“Yeah, can’t you smell it?” Jounouchi questioned, frowning in confusion. 

_ “Nah, I don’t have a sense of smell. Or touch, for that matter.” _

Jounouchi blinked. “Oh… Well… That’s cool,” he replied, awkwardly blurting out the only response he could think to say, not really sure how he was supposed to react. (What do you even say to a statement like that, anyway?)

Shaking his head to clear it, Jounouchi shrugged, and began climbing over one of the piles of tires.

“Man, I should’ve brought something to eat,” he grumbled absent-mindlessly as he hopped down. “Shoulda packed a bento or something.”

_ “Bit of an edgy spot for a picnic, don’t you think?”  _ Atem commented amusedly, raising an eyebrow at Jounouchi. 

Jounouchi snorted. “Aw, come on, like you wouldn’t-”

_ “Look!”  _ Atem interrupted with a gasp, pointing almost urgently at a back corner. 

Jounouchi frowned slightly as he looked where Atem was pointing, trying to figure out what had caught his attention; He caught a brief flash of movement, but couldn’t tell what it was. 

_ “A cat,”  _ Atem declared. He said it with such seriousness and force that Jounouchi might have thought he was angry, were it not for the excited twinkle in his eyes, so wide open that his eyebrows brushed against the circlet around his forehead.

Jounouchi could only watch, slightly dazed, as Atem- paying no mind to Jounouchi, all his attention completely focused on the cat- began to slowly edge closer to it, crouching down slightly.

_ “Hi, kitty! Hello! I see you back there, kitty! Why don’t you come say hello?”  _ Atem babbled in a sweet, high-pitched babytalk voice, holding out his hand towards the cat. 

To Jounouchi’s surprise, the cat looked right at Atem. It mewed curiously, creeping out of its hiding spot ever so slightly, to Atem’s delight.

_ “Yeah, that’s it! Come on! Are you gonna come let me pet you, kitty?”  _ Atem continued, inching ever closer. (Jounouchi could see the internal struggle between his impatience and his desire to not scare the cat away.)  _ “Oh, you’re so pretty! Look how fluffy you are! What a- Wait, no, don’t go!” _

Everything seemed to happen all at once: Atem moved a little too quickly, the cat fled, and the next thing Jounouchi knew, he was practically being beheaded. 

“Jesus, Atem, slow down! Y-You’re gonna break my neck here, man! Hey, are you even listening to me?!” Jounouchi shouted as he stumbled after Atem, the Millennium Puzzle around his neck shooting towards him like a magnet. Atem continued to chase after his target, heedless to Jounouchi’s plight.

_ “Wait, kitty! Come back! I love you!” _

“Atem, for fuck’s sake, stop! This hurts!”

_ “I just wanna be friends! Kitty! Come back!” _

Jounouchi pulled at the Puzzle’s cord as he struggled to run fast enough to keep up with it, still being pulled along like a kite on a string- Then, suddenly, it stopped.

Jounouchi skidded to a halt just behind Atem, his blood running cold as they both looked up, suddenly aware of the scene they’d inadvertently stumbled into: A group of rough-looking teenage boys, all gathered in a cluster facing towards the back wall. Several of them turned to look in surprise at the interruption, and sneered when they saw Jounouchi.

“Hey, boss. Looks like we got a rat,” one of the boys called out.

“No, not a rat. The dog who turned tail and ran.”

The gang seemed to instinctively part as one particular boy stepped forward, hands in his pockets. 

“Never thought I’d see your face again, Jounouchi. Having fun at Loser High?” he said coldly.

Jounouchi growled, his expression growing serious. “Yeah, if I’m a dog, you’re a pack of monkeys,” he spat. “What are you freaks doing here, anyway?”

“This is our torture chamber,” the gang leader answered with a smug grin.

Jounouchi paused, glancing calmly around the room, rotted and messy with puddles and piles of broken trash everywhere. He looked left. He looked right. He looked up. He looked down.

“Funny, this doesn’t look like Domino Correctional,” he said with a shrug.

_ “Who are these guys?”  _ Atem whispered, drifting closer to Jounouchi, all trace of his excitement now gone as he took in the scene with confusion and concern. (Jounouchi simply shook his head briefly, keeping his eyes on the gang.)

To Atem’s surprise, the gang leader laughed. “Well, looks like you haven’t gone soft after all! I missed that fighting spirit of yours,” he decided. “How about you join back up with me?”

“Go to hell, Hirutani.”

“Aw, come on, now. It’s not like I’m asking you to be my minion or anything,” Hirutani continued, still feigning friendliness. “You’ll be my second in command, just like old times. What do you say?”

Jounouchi tapped his chin, humming thoughtfully as he pretended to consider it. “Hmm, gosh, what _ do _ I say… Let me think… Oh! I’ve got it,” he announced, and then cleared his throat dramatically. “Go stick your dick in a blender, Donkey Kong.”

Hirutani’s expression darkened. “Oh, right, I forgot. You’ll mouth off as much as you want if you think there’s no consequences,” he growled. “Well then, how about this?”

He gestured for the others to move, and the gang obediently parted to reveal what they’d previously been so focused on: Another boy, one small and chillingly familiar-looking, tied up by his wrists to a pulley hook hanging from the ceiling. He hung almost entirely limp; His face and arms were covered in blood and bruises, with a defeated look on his face.

_ “Hanasaki?!”  _ Atem and Jounouchi both gasped at the same time, instantly recognizing their classmate.

Jounouchi instantly took a step to run towards Hanasaki, but was suddenly stopped by something hard hitting him in the face and shoulders. He looked up, wondering what had hit him, and-

“Are those fucking  _ yo-yos?”  _ he blurted out in surprise, not sure whether he should be amused or scared, eyes wide in bewilderment at the sheer bizarreness of it all.

“They sure are! Cheap, legal, and painful!” one of the delinquents laughed. The group formed a ring around Jounouchi and Atem, swinging their yo-yos towards the middle to create an effective barrier.

“Well, Jounouchi? What’ll it be? You’re trapped, so make a decision,” Hirutani warned. “Swear your loyalty to me and my crew, or watch as your little friend dies.”

For a moment, Jounouchi froze, glancing from Hanasaki to Hirutani- To the yo-yos swinging at him from every angle, blocking his escape-

_ “Like hell Jounouchi would ever join up with garbage like you,”  _ Atem snarled, and that was all Jounouchi needed to snap back to reality.

“Trapped, huh?!” Jounouchi shouted as he suddenly barreled forward, keeping his head low and his arms close to protect himself. He grunted in pain as yo-yos pelted him relentlessly, feeling like rocks even through his denim jacket, but he gritted his teeth and kept on until he’d pushed his way past the trap.

He gasped, breathing heavily from pain, but shook it off. Without a word, Jounouchi ran towards Hanasaki, grabbing the hook that held him in place.

“J-Jounouchi-kun… you should…” Hanasaki muttered weakly as Jounouchi began untying him. “You should g-get out of here… Forget about me, they’ll kill you…”

“Like hell I’m leaving you here,” Jounouchi insisted.

As Jounouchi finally managed to slip the rope off the hook, Hirutani snarled. “Jounouchi, you bastard… Damn it, you morons went too easy on him! Hit them harder!” he ordered.

“Shut up! Hit me all you want, I’d rather die than betray my friends!” Jounouchi shouted back.

Hirutani raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Well then, go ahead and choose: Join with us, or we’ll kill you.”

At Hirutani’s signal, about half of the gang circled closer and closer, wild grins on their faces as they swung their yo-yos threateningly, an unmistakable hunger for violence in their eyes. Jounouchi would have laughed at the thought of death by yo-yos if he weren’t so genuinely at the end of his rope; He almost reached for the yo-yo in his own pocket, but he knew he couldn’t take on all of them at once… If only there were something…

He glanced at Atem, standing protectively in front of Hanasaki, and an idea suddenly occurred to him.

Reaching behind his neck, Jounouchi slipped the Millennium Puzzle up over his head, holding both sides of the cord in one hand.

“Alright, come and get me, bozos,” he prompted, a confident look on his face despite his injuries.

Atem raised an eyebrow curiously.  _ “What are you- Woah, hey! Don’t do that!”  _ he shrieked as Jounouchi suddenly began twirling the Millennium Puzzle like a windmill in front of him, centrifugal force driving it in a wide, even circle. As the Puzzle began to spin faster and faster, so did Atem’s vision, and he fell dizzily backwards onto (or perhaps into?) what he could only assume was probably the floor.

“What’s that stupid necklace supposed to do, huh?!”

“Why don’t you come find out?” Jounouchi taunted.

Atem heard several surprised yelps and clattering noises, as he stared blankly upward at the infinitely rippling ceiling _ (was _ that even the ceiling? He was too dizzy to tell), and wondered how a ghost could possibly get a headache. After a moment, he felt the spinning stop- though his vision was still reeling- and began awkwardly struggling to right himself.

“And now…”

Atem just barely managed to sit up in time to watch Jounouchi jump up and grab a pulley hook from the ceiling with one hand, while his other hand held a large cluster of yo-yos, still attached to their wielders; He pulled the hook down, wrapped the yo-yos around it several times, and then abruptly let go, sending no less than five boys screaming towards the ceiling.

“Ha! How do you like _ that?!”  _ Jounouchi laughed as the helpless group struggled to free themselves, screaming about their fingers. The rest of the gang stared, slack-jawed, too shocked to make a move.

_ “You’re lucky I don’t have a body, or I’d vomit all over you,”  _ Atem muttered, shooting a dark look at Jounouchi.

“Sorry!” Jounouchi whispered back- And then winced as he noticed the rest of the gang finally snap out of their shock. “Aww, crap.”

Acting on instinct, Jounouchi ran towards the stairs, with Atem following closely behind them. And behind Atem, of course, was the rest of the gang.

“Don’t let him get away!” Hirutani shouted.

Jounouchi jumped through a window and onto the roof, and then groaned as he realized his mistake. “Shit… There’s no way out of here,” he observed, glancing nervously at the concrete lot below.

_ “No, it’s alright. Once they come after you, those guys will be trapped too,”  _ Atem pointed out, and nodded towards the floor.  _ “Stay close to the edge.” _

Jounouchi frowned for a minute, wondering what Atem was getting at. “What do you-”

He glanced down at the half-rusted roof, saggy and full of holes, and let out a quiet “Oh” as he suddenly understood. Grinning in anticipation, he reached into his pocket and took out his own yo-yo.

“Looks like I’m the new Saki this time,” he announced.

He kept running, this time swinging his yo-yo towards the floor as he did so. A quick glance behind him revealed the gang in hot pursuit, as expected.

_ Bang,  _ his yo-yo hit the roof below his feet.

“Run all you want, punk! We’ll yo-yo you into oblivion sooner or later!” one of the gang members taunted.

_ Bang,  _ another hit. Flakes of rusty metal fell towards the ground.

“Yeah, give it up! You’ve got nowhere to run!”

_ Bang, bang. _

“We’ve got you totally trapped! Game over!”

Jounouchi finally paused as he reached the edge of the roof, and turned around casually, a confident grin on his face. “Oh yeah? I’m the one who’s trapped, am I? Take a look around you, morons.”

The group glanced around, confused, the wheels in their minds very slowly turning as they tried to figure out just what-

_ “Aaand three… Two…” _

Atem smiled and waved cheerfully as the roof collapsed in on itself with a loud creak, followed by a loud crash and a number of screams. Jounouchi cheered, snapping his yo-yo back into his hand.

“Remember this, assholes: You won’t be forgiven!” he called down through the hole, though none of the boys below were conscious enough to respond.

With that, Jounouchi began slowly inching his way back towards the window, being careful not to slip and fall into the hole.

“Guess that leaves one left,” he muttered to himself.

_ “Hey, speaking of that… While you’re at it, wanna have a little fun with ponytail guy?”  _ Atem suggested, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

_ “What I mean is, you just took out his entire gang single-handedly. He’s gotta be at least a little shaken up by now,”  _ Atem pointed out, as he casually floated across the broken roof.  _ “I wonder how he’d feel about, oh, I don’t know… Levitating bricks, perhaps?” _

Jounouchi grinned, realizing what Atem was implying. “Ah, I gotcha. Sure, why not?” he decided as he climbed back into the building.

Just as they’d expected, Hirutani stood at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at Jounouchi with his hands in his pockets. Jounouchi met his gaze with equal fire as he jumped down.

“Let’s settle things once and for all.”

Hirutani snorted as he took his stance. “I’ve heard you say that before, you know. Neither of us ever could beat the other, could we?” he responded, a confident calmness to his voice, though Jounouchi could sense his slight hesitation.

Atem and Jounouchi exchanged knowing glances.

“Yeah, well… You know what, Hirutani?” Jounouchi began with careful deliberacy as he approached Hitutani, Atem grinning behind him. “The truth is, all these years, I’ve been holding back.”

Hirutani raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Holding back how?”

Jounouchi said nothing, though the corner of his mouth twitched as he fought to maintain his act. Atem, on the other hand, made no effort to hide his mischief, giggling devilishly as he looked around the room for appropriate “props” for his little game.

_ “Here goes,”  _ he announced cheerfully, and tossed a pile of wooden planks into the air.

Hirutani’s eyes widened in shock as the planks clattered loudly to the ground. “Wh-What the fu-”

Before Hirutani could finish his sentence, Jounouchi punched him square in the jaw, sending him toppling backwards. Hirutani grunted in pain, still looking confused, but nonetheless stood back up. 

“Doesn’t feel all that tough,” he insisted with a shrug. “It’ll take more than that to beat me.” With that, he moved in for a punch of his own, and-

_ “My turn!” _

Atem shoved Hirutani backwards before he could get in a hit, knocking him to the floor once again. Just for good measure, he dropped a few of the wooden planks on top of him.

“Like I said, I’ve been holding back. So you’d better watch it,” Jounouchi repeated, pressing a foot against Hirutani’s chest. “If I  _ ever  _ hear about you or any of your little monkey gang coming anywhere near anyone from Domino High ever again, I’ll-”

“Y-You’ll what?” Hirutani interrupted, gritting his teeth in one last effort to look tough.

Hirutani’s eyes widened in what was now undeniably fear as everything around them suddenly went dark, and all he could see was Jounouchi leering down at him from the darkness, his hair floating up in anger.

“You don’t even want to  _ know  _ what I’ll do,” Jounouchi hissed darkly, glaring down at Hirutani threateningly. He trembled in what he hoped Hirutani would simply assume to be anger, as he struggled not to laugh at the way Atem was tickling his hair.

Time itself seemed to resume as light abruptly returned to the warehouse, snapping Hirutani out of his shock. He immediately scrambled backwards away from Jounouchi, whimpering in fear.

“Now get out of my sight, you… you… Worm!” Jounouchi spat, and Hirutani was more than happy to obey.

Jounouchi and Atem watched as Hirutani ran towards the door, keeping their eyes on him until he was long out of sight. And then, they broke down laughing.

_ “See, I told you it’d work! We really got him good!”  _ Atem cheered, giggling just the way he had when he’d scared Jounouchi earlier.

“Man, did you see the look on his face?! I thought he was gonna piss his pants!” Jounouchi agreed, and then practically fell over as he laughed even harder.

_ “Aw, man! We should start a theater group, I’ll be in charge of special effects and you can-” _

Atem’s sentence was interrupted by a groan from behind them. Atem and Jounouchi both exchanged wide-eyed glances as they suddenly realized what they’d forgotten.

“Aw, shit, Hanasaki,” Jounouchi gasped, and ran to his side.

Hanasaki winced as Jounouchi helped him up off the floor, every inch of his skin tender with bruises. Jounouchi held him steady with a worried expression, trying (and, unfortunately, failing) to be careful of his injuries.

“A-Are they gone..?” Hanasaki gasped.

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah, they’re taken care of, don’t worry. It’s all clear now,” he assured him. “Looks like your glasses are toast, though,” he observed, biting his lip as he glanced at the crushed metal frames and broken glass on the ground.

Hanasaki sighed. “Yeah, I figured… Thanks for saving me, Jounouchi-kun.”

“No problem. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

“O-Oh, are you sure?” Hanasaki questioned, blinking in surprise. “I mean, I don’t want to cause you any more trouble…”

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I don’t want you walking around injured and half-blind by yourself,” he insisted. “We just gotta go get my bike from the other building first, alright?”

Hanasaki nodded, wincing slightly at the pain. “Thank you. I... really appreciate it.”

As Jounouchi carefully led Hanasaki towards the door, Atem glanced around quietly, wondering where the cat had gone.

* * *

For all that had happened over such a short span of time, it still somehow felt like Jounouchi and Atem’s sleepover had barely even begun by the time Monday morning rolled around. Atem and Yuugi both seemed to perk up slightly with excitement upon seeing each other, hurrying to meet at the entrance to school.

“Hey, Yuugi!” Jounouchi greeted him cheerfully. “How was your vacation?”

“It was great! I’ll tell you guys all about it later,” Yuugi replied.

_ “Did you bring me back any presents?”  _ Atem asked, smiling not-so-innocently as he watched Yuugi take off his shoes.

“Yup!”

Atem blinked in surprise.  _ “Wait, really? I was just joking, you didn’t have to get me anything…” _

Yuugi laughed. “The museum had a gift shop, and I found a tsumego book I thought you’d like,” he explained. “It’s by Touya Kouyou, so it’s bound to be good.”

_ “Ooh, fancy. Thank you, Yuugi.” _

“You’re welcome! By the way, how was the sleepover?”

_ “It was lots of fun,”  _ Atem replied with a nod.  _ “Jounouchi-kun’s sister drew a picture of me.” _

“Oh, that’s- ...Waaaait, how does she know what you look like?” Yuugi wondered, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Atem and Jounouchi exchanged nervous glances.  _ “Uh…” _

“And come to think of it, how’d your face get all bruised?” Yuugi added, frowning at Jounouchi.

“Oh, I, uh… See, we were playing around, and I… Slipped on an Uno card?” he tried hesitantly.

Yuugi was unconvinced, as evidenced by the way he crossed his arms and sighed. “I  _ told _ you guys not to get into trouble,” he scolded them. “You said you were going to behave.”

“It’s not our fault! We tried not to get into trouble, honest!” Jounouchi insisted, waving his hands in denial.

_ “Yeah, it was an accident! I just wanted to pet a cat-” _

“I told her not to touch the Puzzle-”

_ “And I promise I didn’t kill anyone-” _

“Besides, they started it, we were just minding our own business!”

“Woah, woah, hang on,” Yuugi interrupted. “Who started what, exactly? What happened?”

The two paused their denials, taking a moment to collect themselves. Jounouchi took a deep breath.

“...Ok, so basically… So like, my sister came over, and I didn’t know she was coming but mom was doing some errands nearby so she decided to come say hi anyway, right?” he began. “And I had left the Millennium Puzzle on the table, so she was like, ‘Hey, what’s with this weird pyramid?’ and I said ‘Don’t touch that!’, but then she touched it anyway. But then her and Atem became friends, so it’s cool,” he assured Yuugi. “And  _ then,  _ the next day, I was showing Atem the old abandoned warehouses and there was this cat and he wanted to pet it, but it ran off, so he chased after it and then it turned out these guys I was in a gang with in middle school had kidnapped Hanasaki, ‘cause he’s got a bunch of rare Zombire merchandise from America and I guess they wanted to sell it? Anyway, so- Oh also for some reason they were all fighting with yo-yos, it was weird, anyway… So Atem and I kicked their asses, but not too hard, and then we scared ‘em off, so uh… Yeah, so basically we didn’t do anything wrong,” he finished with a nod.

Yuugi stared blankly at Jounouchi for a moment.

“I… Really didn’t understand about half of that, but I believe you, I guess,” he decided with a confused shrug. “Anyway, can I have the Millennium Puzzle back now?”

“Oh, right.” Jounouchi pulled the Millennium Puzzle’s cord over his head, and handed it to Yuugi; There was an immediate sense of rightness as Yuugi slipped it back on, as if everything was just the way it was supposed to be.

_ “Thank you for having me over, Jounouchi-kun,”  _ Atem said sincerely, smiling as he drifted back towards his usual spot at Yuugi’s side.  _ “I had a lot of fun. I hope we can do it again sometime.” _

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah, I had fun too! Maybe next time we can hang out without getting in to trouble for real this time,” he laughed.

Atem laughed as well.  _ “Yeah, probably not.” _

“Almost definitely not.”

“You two are going to be the death of me,” Yuugi sighed.


End file.
